Daily Mortgage Rates and Lock Recommendations

Here is today's look at best mortgage rates, provided by Mortgage News Daily, Freddie Mac,
and other sources. Note that today's BEST rates may include points and differ from national
average rates for several reasons. To be eligible for BEST rates, borrowers need spotless
credit (740 score or better), a sizable down payment (20-25%) or equity amount, and stable,
adequate,and documentable income.In addition, the property must be located in a healthy
(not declining) market and must be conventionally built.

So far today, mortgage-basked securities' prices are following those of
treasuries; markets are expressing disappointment in the Fed purchase of
$2.5 billion in bonds when it was expected that government purchases would
be closer to $4 billion. Treasuries off just slightly, MBS prices holding
steady. Expect par (with full lender fees but no discount points) rates to
remain near 4.50% to 4.75%. Therefore:

Under current conditions, I would LOCK my rate if closing within
7 days; otherwise I would FLOAT my mortgage rate.

This is only an opinion -- what I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your
decision may depend on other factors such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance
for risk, and must be made with those in mind.

Liz Freeman has more than a decade of mortgage lending experience. She writes about mortgage
and finance issues and is a regular contributor to Mortgage News Daily.