Mortgage rates rose for a fourth-straight week to reach a six-month high as yields on government bonds continue to rise. The average interest on a 30-year fixed loan hit 4.61 percent, up from 4.46 percent a week ago, Freddie Mac reported.

Also, 15-year fixed loans averaged 3.96 percent, up from 3.81 percent last week; and rates for variable adjustable-rate mortgages floated higher as well. (Source: Los Angeles Times, E. Scott Reckard (12/10/10)).

Ironically, it could be rising interest rates that may actually finally push home buyers off the fence and into the market:

Analysts are predicting that buyers will move quickly when it looks like rates are going up and are unlikely to come down. "Once people see this might actually be the bottom, they’ll go for it," says Paul Dales of Capital Economics.