In late March, the Federal Reserve pulled out of the mortgage-backed securities market.  This caused a quick rise in mortgage rates in the first several weeks of the Fed-less mortgage market.  This caused some concern in the real estate industry that the rebound in home sales would come to an end.  Those concerns were alleviated over the past couple of weeks as mortgage rates have dropped dramatically.  Rates fell to their lowest levels of the year, and have maintained a relative stability over the past week.  Despite the lack of the Fed assistance and the expiration of the first time homebuyer program, the summer should remain a good time to buy for Houstonians.