So you missed the bottom.

Mortgage rates are still well below average levels over the past 10-year time period.

As long as you purchase a home or refinance your mortgage before rates climb significantly, you'll do a lot better in the mortgage arena than many of your friends, relatives and coworkers have in the past. (Just promise me you won't rub it in!)

How good do you, gentle reader, have it?

Ten years ago, rates for both 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgages were more than 9 percent.

Back in the early- and mid-1980s, rates in the mid- to high-teens were the norm. But even if you focus on averages rather than fixed points in times when rates were high, today's loans look downright cheap.

By averaging the weekly rates from the last 10 years, you come up with a 30-year loan average of 7.78 percent and a 15-year loan average of 7.35 percent. Over the past five years, 30-year rates averaged 7.56 percent while 15-year rates averaged 7.18 percent. And during the past year, which featured high rates the first six months and low ones the rest of the year, 30-year rates averaged 7.79 percent while 15-year rates averaged 7.42 percent.

By comparison, rates today average about 6.51 percent on 30-year loans and 5.98 percent on 15-year loans. You don't need a Ph.D. in mathematics to figure out that fixed rate mortgages are still a great bargain.

If you haven't locked in a refinance loan or bought a house because rates have risen a bit, stop crying over spilled milk. Get out there and grab rates that hundreds of thousands of mortgage shoppers over the past decade could only dream of!