There are a number of ways to approach an affordability analysis, and these calculators allow you to assess the effects of different variables when buying a home.

• Rent Vs. Buy Calculator
  allows you to compare the costs of renting a residence and buying a home.
• Mortgage Qualification Calculator
  shows you how much income you need to buy a home, based on your income and other factors.
• Mortgage Payment Calculator
  displays your mortgage payment for the term of your loan.
• Refinance Calculator
  will help you determine if now is the right time to refinance.
• Debt Consolidation Calculator
  can show you how to reduce your monthly payments and save money as well.
• Monthly Payment Calculator
  allows you to explore the outcome of changes to your loan balance, mortgage term, and interest rate on your monthly P&I payments.

Rates on 15-year fixed loans went from 6 percent to 6.10 percent, one-year adjustable mortgage rate rose from 5.51 percent to 5.57 percent, and five-year hybrid ARMs jumped from 6.02 percent to 6.11 percent.

The chief economist at Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, attributes the rise to economic growth and increasing energy prices. These have caused concerns about inflation.

Adjustable-rate mortgages have been maligned in recent years as some critics have contended that, in an era when fixed-rate loans were at historic lows, ARMs were only being used by marginal buyers who could not otherwise afford to buy houses. The implication was these were all risky loans that would eventually come back to haunt lenders and the housing market.

But ARMs account for about 32% of all home loans while 30-year fixed rates have remained low. Why? The article points out that if you are not planning on staying in your home for more than 5 years then why not take the lowest possible interest rate. People are not planning on buying a home and staying for 20 or 30 years so instead of locking in for 30 years they instead are opting for the ARMs.

This idea of better matching your housing plans to the financing you put on the housing is a relatively new one, since these hybrid ARMs — you can find three-year, seven-year and 10-year versions as well — have only been around a few years. (Freddie Mac only began tracking the 5/1 hybrid rate in 2005.) But the practice makes perfect sense: Homes turn over in the U.S. every seven years on average and first-time buyers especially often plan a short stay in their “starter” home before moving up. Even if your savings on a hybrid ARM is only a few tenths of a percentage point versus a 30-year loan, that’s money that can be in your pocket instead of the lender’s in those five years, as much as $760 on a $200,000 loan, Freddie Mac says.

But buyer beware:

That doesn’t mean there is no risk in these loans. Plans can change and adjustments can sneak up on you. If rates do spike, refinancing your way out of the ARM might not be of any help. But for the most part, this use of hybrid ARMs looks like a perfectly rational consumer behavior.

Other rates:

• 15 year, fixed-rate: 5.76% (unchanged)
• 1 year, adjustable rate: 5.16% (up from 5.15)
• 5 year hybrid arms: 5.78% (down from 5.79)

How will this affect home sales? According to the article:

Home sales are expected to be down this year from last year but should still be respectable, economists predicted. “The slowdown amounts to a tapping of the brakes on a hot market,” said David Lereah, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

Home prices are expected to cool, too. David Seiders, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, predicts home prices will rise by 6.5 percent this year, versus the double-digit gains seen previously.