Strong auction results, particularly for the 30-yr Treasuries, helped mortgage rates move lower last week.

In recent months, mortgage rates have been heavily influenced by concerns about the enormous amount of debt the government needs to issue to fund the budget deficit. While recent Treasury auctions have seen stronger than average demand, investors remained cautious ahead of this week's large supply of government debt. The risk is that investors will require higher yields to continue purchasing an expanding supply of bonds. Longer-term Treasuries are comparable investments to mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which largely determine mortgage rates, so the results from 10-yr and 30-yr auctions are particularly important. Strong demand from both domestic and foreign investors at this week's Treasury auctions eased the concerns.

For now all looks good for rates.

Please remember that the $8000 tax credit is counting down we have less than 50 business days before the deadline (this includes days gone for the holidays between now and November 30th). 

You must close and record by November 30th to get the credit.  As of now there are no indications that the program will be extended.

FYI - the credit does not apply for home bought from a realtive.