Here is a direct link to a great chart that shows the history of the mortgage rates:  http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage_rates/charts.asp

Amazing how they go up and down, hey?

You can go directly to Mortgage News Daily to adjust the chart to see the history of the mortgage rates for other years.

What’s important to understand when looking at the history trend of the mortgage rates, they usually go up, then back down.  Go down, then back up.  It’s quite the roller coaster ride and if you don’t normally follow them, it can cause a lot of confusion.

One of the easiest rule of thumbs to follow when it comes time to decided when to lock in that low interst rate, is to focus on your personal goal.

Are you looking to lower your monthly payment as low as possible?
Are you looking to save the most amount of interest over the life of the mortgage loan?

When is comes to refinancing your mortgage loan, most people will focus on the amount of monthly savings they can accumulate from the refinance.  This is mostly because we live our lives month to month, when it comes to our bills.  If you are looking to save $100 a month on your mortgage payment with your refinance, you should really think about locking your rate when that $100 savings is there.  Don’t let greed overcome you, lock in that interest rate when you reach your goal of a $100 monthly savings.

Same goes for the goal of saving the most amount of interest possible when refinancing your mortgage.  If your goal is to reduce your rate just 0.5% and this saves you tens of thousands over the life of the mortgage loan, then lock your rate in at 0.5% less than your current mortgage rate.

Every situation is different, because a person with a $100,000 mortgage loan may not refinance to save just 0.5% on their rate, versus the person with a $400,000 mortgage loan.  The savings in interest is dramatically different!

I know looking at the history of the mortgage rates will not give you the crystal ball of when to lock in the low rate, but it certainly helps in making the decision.