HAGERSTOWN, MD - The Federal Reserve Bank cut its lending rate to one percent last week and there's speculation that it could go even lower.

With the federal lending rate at an all-time low, it would seem mortgage rates would go down as well, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.

“They're at an all time high.  I think our current rate is about 6.70% for 30 years currently,” said Michael Hough with Susquehanna Bank in Hagerstown.

That's because the mortgage rates are partly determined by how much cash a bank has, and right now, that's not much.

Investors' hunger for mortgage loans has abated with a loss in consumer confidence, big banks not buying mortgages, and an unstable housing market.

Lenders at Susquehanna Bank say first-time homebuyers are going to pull the country out of the housing crisis.  Fortunately, those are the buyers that are more concerned about monthly payments and less concerned about the high interest rates.

If you have an adjustable rate loan, or are looking to buy property, don't panic.  Susquehanna lenders say rates will go down, probably by the beginning of 2010.  Perhaps it will be helped by the influx of cash generated by the government bank bailout.

According to bankrate.com, the average 30-year fixed rate loan is 6.71%, up from last week’s average of 6.08%.