Nobody can reliably project where mortgage rates will be a year out, and anyone who claims otherwise is guessing with confidence. Rates ride on inflation, economic growth, Federal Reserve policy, and demand for mortgage-backed bonds, and well-informed analysts disagree sharply about all four. Watch those drivers if you enjoy following them. For the day-to-day number, use the Mortgage News Daily rate table, right here on our site. The more useful caution is about the waiting itself. If prices are rising in your market, the time spent saving a larger down payment can cost more in purchase price than the bigger down payment saves, because most people cannot save faster than the homes they are targeting appreciate. And the two numbers age differently: a rate can be refinanced later if the market improves, while the purchase price is locked forever the day you sign. So weigh the risk of a rising price against the benefit of a somewhat larger down payment, and leave rate forecasting out of the decision. Nobody can actually make that forecast, including us.