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When will these rates go up?  When will these rates go down?

It’s bound to happen eventually.  There is a zero percent chance that mortgage rates can stay near record lows for too much longer.  It just doesn’t make sense with all of the grumblings coming out of Europe.

Nevertheless, for the sixth straight week, mortgage rates have hung around the same area all across the board, according to Freddie Mac’s Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Some might view this as a good thing, as mortgage rates have been flirting with all-time lows for quite some time now.  I’m sure our clients have got to be happy about that.  I know we are.

30-year fixed rates dropped from 4.00 percent last week with 0.7 points to 3.99 percent this week with 0.7 points.  It is the fourth time in the history of the modern mortgage that you can get a 30-year fixed for less than 4.00 percent.  Last year at this time, 30-year fixed rates were at 4.61 percent.  That’s a huge drop-off in a 12-month span.

15-year fixed rates also dropped over the course of the week to 3.27 percent with 0.8 points this week from last week’s 3.30 percent with 0.8 points.  Aside from a three-week stretch in October where 15-year fixed rates came in around the 3.38 percent range, they have more or less stood pat in the 3.27 to 3.33 range since September.  Last year, 15-year fixed rates were hovering around the 3.96 percent range.

The ARMs were the only rates to see increases this week, even though they were marginal at best.  5/1-year ARMs jumped to 2.93 percent with 0.5 points this week from last week’s 2.90 percent with 0.6 points, whereas 1-year ARMs increased to 2.80 percent with 0.6 points this week from last week’s 2.78 percent with 0.6 points.

Last year, 5/1-year ARMs were at 3.60 percent and 1-year ARMs came in at 3.27 percent.

My favorite part of Thursday mornings is to see what my good friend Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist from Freddie Mac, has to say.  He’s not really my good friend (I’ve never met the fellow), but I’m sure he is a scholar and a gentleman.

He discussed how these unbelievably low rates have impacted housing affordability by explaining, “These low rates and home prices have pushed housing affordability to record highs this year.  For instance, the National Housing Affordability Index, which dates back to 1971, reached another all-time record high in October for the sixth time in 2011.”

It would be stupid, ignorant, and foolish of me not to encourage you to take advantage of these silly-low rates.  Europe is having its summit tomorrow to see what type of plan it will enact to combat its debt crisis.  If it’s a plan that can literally change the world, we might not see these rates for much longer.  Act now!

Eric Mally is a writer for Quicken Loans, an amazing place to work.  Find out more about being a part of our team at Quicken Loans and learn how we Amaze our clients.

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