Mortgage rates unlikely to fall

Over the last week, I have been watching mortgage rates. I have seen few signs that they have come down, despite the interest rate cuts from the Fed. In fact, those cuts have done nothing to rescue America's devastated housing markets.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Consumers inspired by Wednesday's rate cuts in overnight lending rates shouldn't count on consumer interest rates falling in response, said Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "If you are looking to purchase a home or to refinance, I'm not so sure you'll see mortgage rates fall," he said Wednesday. "Mortgage rates don't have that much room to fall."

Last week, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.48%, one of the lowest rates since 2004, according to Freddie Mac's survey. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee lowered the target for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 3%. In eight days the Fed has cut rates by 1.25 percentage points, the fastest pace in 20 years.