Glimmers of hope in the housing market suggest a turnaround is at hand, with statistics showing stabilizing home prices and an increasing number of home sales.

Yet even as housing conditions improve, mortgage interest rates remain near record-low levels.

Rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.71% for the week ended June 14, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming rates. Prior to that week, rates had broken record lows for six weeks straight.

It's a situation that seems to defy supply-and-demand logic: If there's more demand in the housing market, wouldn't the cost of borrowing funds to buy a home be on the rise?

Not necessarily.