Freddie Mac reported drop in 20 year fixed mortgage for the 10th consecutive week to a new low of 5.01%. This is the lowest rate reported since Freddie Mac started to report average rates in 1971.
 
Mortgage rates pushed sharply down as The Federal Reserve purchased mortgage backed securities in its goal of lowering mortgage rates. Success has been slightly reported thus far and the traditional rate difference between 10 year treasury and the 30 year fixed rates is gone, as 10 year Treasury bond did not move to new lows.
 
If the yields on 30 year fixed and 10 year treasury are re-established with we may see mortgage rates at 3.0%.

Another round of $350 billion of TARP money is expected to be released during first week of Obama's presidency. This time it will be more controlled than previous amounts under Bush's administration. TARTP money was used to help banks to start lending again, however; no set rules were given to any bank which resulted in banks buying other banks and not lending to consumers.

If new round of financing is released, it can help overall real estate economy to gain some ground and 10 year Treasury bond should re-establish itself and lower mortgage rates even further.

Darker side of very low interest rates is that it may take a longer time for US economy to grow again. This however; will spread out a huge refinance time again, in most cases bigger than ever before, however; real estate growth will slow down.

In today's market we can clearly see that many jobs are offered at low hourly salaries as many applicants are competing. What used to be $15/hour job may turn out to be in low $10/hour job. Employers see this as opportunity to lay off current workers and hire new workers for less hourly pay.

To grow back to $15/hour will take some time; even years and employer will prosper during this time.

There is "no crystal ball" to see where rates might be headed, with hopes that congress will take control of economy and stabilize market.

Finding out if refinancing is the right move can be as simple task. With an easy calculation you can calculate your monthly savings and compare it to refinancing fee. Many people are waiting as public believes that rates might drop even further. But can you wait?

People are very rate-curious as a huge demand in refinancing is already under way. With a current mortgage rate of close to 5.875% for 30 year fixed mortgage, mortgage refinance will bring a huge savings.

Even if rates drop to low 3%, you can always refinance again as it will make sense for almost for anyone to refinance and save on fees as well.

One of the biggest challenges that many homeowners are facing are low real estate values. With prediction of 20 percent decline in 2009, many borrowers will again miss a great refinance opportunity if they keep waiting for the next best rate.

If you have a very little equity and keep waiting until rates will go even lower, your property value may depreciate even further. On the other hand, if you have plenty of equity, you can take your time to see how markets will perform in next few months.

Current mortgage rates may not come back for a long time.