Zeroing in on refi time

Should homeowners wait for interest rates to drop even lower, or lock in a refinancing right now?

From the December issue: When
the Federal Reserve recently rolled out its plan to pump $600 billion
into the credit markets, many homeowners and buyers might have figured
that since mortgage interest rates are now likely to fall again, why
not postpone the loan application they were contemplating? Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke offered implicit support for that scenario when,
in a Washington Post op-ed on Nov. 4, he wrote that as a by-product of
the $600 billion infusion, “lower mortgage rates will make housing more
affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance.” But wait a
minute: Haven’t 30-year fixed mortgage rates been hovering around 4.25
percent, the lowest level on record since April 1951? Aren’t 15-year
mortgages just above 3.6 percent? How much lower could rates possibly
go? [more]

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