Your Mortgage : Steady Rates, Slow Sales Are a Boon for Buyers : Finance: Sellers are more willing to trim their prices as the market continues to soften.

If you’re thinking of taking out a loan to either buy a new home or refinance your current one, here’s some good news: Most economists say today’s low mortgage rates won’t be going up much in the near future, and some even say that rates will drop.

The rosy interest-rate picture gives would-be buyers even more clout when they go shopping for a new home.

The once-sizzling market has recently turned soft, with sales dropping in many parts of the state and across the nation. Sellers have become more willing to cut their asking prices.

Now, with the upward pressure on interest rates apparently over for the time being, buyers have one more reason to take their time house hunting and perhaps drive even harder bargains.

“The economy is slowing down, and there just isn’t much inflation to worry about,” said David Berson, chief economist for the Federal National Mortgage Assn. in Washington, D.C. “There’s no real reason to think interest rates are going to go up over the next few months.”

A cooling economy eases inflationary pressures and, typically, pushes mortgage rates down.

Interest rates peaked last spring, when 30-year fixed-rate loans topped 11%. They have since floated back down to about 10%.

Now, Berson and some other economists say rates may fall even lower--perhaps as low as 9 1/2%--before starting another upward march early next next year.

The interest-rate dip has already sparked a mad dash for fixed-rate loans, mortgages that were out of favor when interest rates topped 11% earlier this year.

“Our adjustable-rate mortgage business is virtually non-existent,” said Howard Levine, president of ARCS Mortgage Inc. in Calabasas. “When fixed-rate loans are as low as they are today, there’s just no reason why consumers should take out an ARM.”

Still, if you’re thinking about buying a home, most experts say it probably won’t be worthwhile to delay your plans in the hope of getting a much lower rate.

ARCS Mortgage and several other lenders are already offering 30-year fixed-rate loans at 9 3/4%. On a $150,000 loan, monthly interest and principal payments would be $1,289.

If rates drop to 9 1/2%, payments on the loan would drop to $1,261--only $28 a month lower.

“If prices go up just one-half percent a month, the higher price you pay for the property will wipe out any savings from the lower rate,” Levine said.

People who are thinking of refinancing may want to wait a few more weeks to see if rates drop a bit further, but that means taking a risk that the economists are wrong and that rates will go up.

Regardless of whether you’re buying a home or refinancing, you’ll want to see if your lender will let you “lock-in” today’s low rates.

If you get a lock-in clause, the lender will agree to give you the same interest rate even if mortgages rates rise between the time your completed loan application is accepted and the time the money is advanced.

Some lenders will let you lock in their current rates for 30 days, while others provide 60 and even 75-day guarantees. Some institutions will charge you several hundred dollars for the lock-in clause, while others provide the guarantee for free.

You’ll also want to ask the lender what will happen if you apply for a loan and interest rates drop before your application is processed. A few lenders will give you the lower rate if that happens, but most will require that you take the interest rate that was in effect when you turned in your application.

One other tip: If a loan officer promises you that the rate you’re quoted is the rate you’ll get, make sure that promise is in writing. As the late movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn once said, “a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”