Everytime I hear the questions "is it the right time to buy?" I think of the Clash song "Should I Stay Or Should I go". The right time to buy is when you are ready. That means, you have gone through a loan pre-approval process, reviewed your finances and know how much you can really afford and you have down payment, closing cost and reserves ready.

Just getting pre-approved isn't enough in my opinion. You also have to look at what your current and additional expenses might be once you move. For example, if you were renting close to your work in downtown San Francisco and then you had to move to Castro Valley, Hayward or any of the east bay neighborhoods, you have to figure out what that would cost you to commute. You also have to figure out the physical and emotional cost that comes along with it.

Mortgage interest rates, as reported by Freddie Mac, have increased over the last several weeks. Freddie Mac, along with Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Associationand the National Association of Realtors, is calling for mortgage rates to continue to rise over the next four quarters.
This has caused some purchasers to lament the fact they may no longer be able to get a rate below 4%. However, we must realize that current rates are still at historic lows.
Here is a chart showing the average mortgage interest rate over the last several decades.

Bottom Line

Though you may have missed getting the lowest mortgage rate ever offered, you can still get a better interest rate than your older brother or sister did ten years ago, a lower rate than your parents did twenty years ago, and a better rate than your grandparents did forty years ago.