New York, California Metro Home Prices May Fall as Rates Climb

Anna Morita, a neuropsychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area with near-perfect credit, was certain she could get the loan of her choice to buy an $880,000 three- bedroom house.

Morita, 34, with more than $300,000 for a down payment and a credit score of 825 out of a possible 850, was banking on a 30-year loan with interest-only payments for 10 years. That mortgage became too expensive when her lender quoted a rate of 7.6 percent. She's now applying for another mortgage.