Mortgage rates could be headed lower, thanks to moves made by the Federal Reserve. Yesterday, when the Fed and Treasury announced that consumer financing would be encouraged, the agencies also made moves to help lower mortgage rates.

In an effort to get liquidity going and overcome mortgage lender hesitation, the government announced it would be taking some of the obligations from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. This should help lower the spread between Treasury yields and mortgage rates, and — hopefully — bring mortgage rates down.

Of course, the cost will be another cool $800 billion, and some may think the price tag for such "rescue" is too high.