Mortgage rates have not been lower in decades. A great time to get a mortgage, having a good credit rating has never meant better rewards. At this time, mortgage rates are at 3.98 percent for a 30-year fixed rate. One would think that with home mortgage rates such as these, that there would be healthy housing market recovery, but there are other players in the mix.

The banks are tighter than ever with their qualifying guidelines. Even so, shopping around and doing one's homework can pay big dividends when it comes to getting a low mortgage rate and saving big on monthly payments. Banks also have so many foreclosed homes that the surplus is lowering home prices. Investors are finding this to be a great time to buy up the surplus and become landlords.

The 15-year mortgage rates are also on the downward trend at 3.3 percent, as of Thanksgiving Day 2011. In all of 2011, mortgage rates have not been above 5 percent except for two weeks over the span of the entire year.

Because there is such a strong demand for rental property, home flippers or investors that purchase foreclosures are no longer able to resell those homes for a higher price as there are fewer buyers capable of applying for mortgages, despite the low home mortgage rates. At a rate of 22.3 percent over other home buyers, it is investors that are present at home closings, rather than primary home buyers. Distressed properties are falling in price to an average of $101,000 as opposed to non-distressed properties that are selling at an average $225,000.

When analyzing the housing industry, experts are giving credit for low home sales, despite all-time low home mortgage rates, to uncertainty and high foreclosure rates. With the current housing market putting many home owners in an underwater position, these home owners have had to resort to the short sale to get out from under the water and work their way back to being viable as an applicant for a home mortgage. After being in an underwater position, some homeowners have been told by their lenders that they had to fall behind on their mortgages in order to qualify for a short sale.

Think twice before following such bad advice. Unless this is the only way to get above the water, do not fall behind on mortgage payments. This may solve the problem for the short term. However, in order to buy a home after a short sale and qualify for low home mortgage rates, any buyer that has fallen behind on mortgage payments will have to wait at least two to four years to qualify for a new home mortgage.