Jumbo mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans went down thirty-six hundredths of a point from one week ago, with today’s rate at 4.08 percent. This puts today’s jumbo loan rates at a hundredth of a point higher than this year’s all-time low.

Today’s MBA jumbo mortgage rates on a 30-year loan continued this decrease to 4.44%. These jumbo mortgage rates may decrease tomorrow, but jumbo loans are almost certain to become more costly soon. The federal government will be bankrolling the extension on its payroll taxes with new mortgage fees that will be mandatory for all borrowers.

No one knows the day when this increase in mortgage fees will trickle down to the jumbo loan borrower, but it will definitely happen. You should be concerned about this if you are considering applying for a jumbo loan in the near future.

Another trend to think about is the tendency of lenders to suppress their inbound loan volume when the rates get down to the high threes. They accomplish this decrease by raising rates or costs. Jumbo loan rates are inching downward to this high-threes danger zone. So anyone considering a jumbo loan at this time should probably start their application process and get their rate locked in sooner, rather than later.

This, however, may be a scare tactic or an unfounded prediction. No one really knows.

Some economists are forecasting that in 2012 the country will slip into a double-dip recession. Fannie Mae’s chief economist predicts a 40 percent chance of this occurring.

But there other predictions on where jumbo loan rates are going to go. The year 2012 will begin with rates at historic lows, but some financial experts believe there is a good chance that these rates could climb during the year into the fives and maybe even the sixes.

On the sunny side of these eclipsing mortgage-rate predictions is the fact that a few of these pessimists have revised their forecasts upwards because of the increase in job growth and better retail and automotive sales.

Although the rates for jumbo loans have been decreasing at a steady rate, no one knows when they will begin heading upwards. The main kernel of financial wisdom to be gleaned from all the up-and-down mortgage-rate predictions is that potential borrowers may want to live in the now and get the lower interest rates on jumbo loans while the rates are still low.