Interesting article on the housing market & interest rates
Higher rates may deepen the two-year housing slump that helped trigger the recession and sideline consumers planning to refinance or buy their first home. The median sale price for a U.S. home dropped in April to $170,000, down 26 percent from a record $230,000 in July 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Refinancing Index

The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes climbed 6.7 percent in April, largely on cheaper financing costs, according to the realtors group. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan fell 16 percent to 658.7 in the week ended May 29 as borrowing rates climbed.

“The more rates go up, the more we need home prices to go down to equalize consumers’ payments,” said Donald Rissmiller, chief economist at New York-based Strategas Research Partners. “It’s those payments that have brought about a level of stability” in home sales, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axq3ToKyUXnE