Last week the national average for the 30 year fixed dropped to 4.89%, while the average for the 15 year fixed rate fell to about 4.32%. This makes for a total of three weeks since the 30 year fixed-rate has dipped below 5% and the lowest rate ever recorded for the 15 year rate. Additionally, FHA, Jumbo, and reverse mortgage rates have dipped recently, though not to the same degree as the 30 and 15 year fixed.

With the upcoming expiration of the first-time home buyer tax credit program and the predicted increase in rates and inflation as the economy recovers, don’t expect rates to stay below 5.0% for much longer. We are very likely to see some volatility in rates during the rest of October as investors wait to see what direction the 10 year treasury yield will. The Fed is planning to stop buying back US Treasuries at the end of this month so there will likely be an increase in treasury yields which would subsequently increase mortgage rates.

So if you have been thinking about either refinancing or buying a new home, you might want to consider doing in sooner rather than later