Last week, I argued that the super low mortgage rates could actually be contributing to strategic defaults.

The general idea being the low rates today make it even less desirable to hold a “high-rate” mortgage from the past.

The only positive from this assumption is that homeowners in this position may buy a new home and bail on the old one.

That’s a positive for them, minus the credit score hit, but a negative for the housing market and mortgage lenders .

And now it has occurred to me that the promise of low mortgage rates for the foreseeable future may have the unintended consequence of hurting home sales, at least in the near term.

You see, a new poll from mortgage financier Fannie Mae revealed that just 33 percent of consumers expect mortgage rates to rise in the next 12 months.

That figure is down from 45 percent a month ago, and is the lowest number Fannie has recorded since their monthly tracking began.

At first glance, it sounds like great news. Mortg

Read full article…