On a national scale, mortgage rates have been on their way down for the past two weeks, after several weeks of rising from historical low levels. The rates could stay low in 2013, according to some of the country’s leading financial analysts.

According to Bankrate.com’s Gregory McBride, the continuing debt crisis in Europe and the slow recovery of the American economy will contribute in keeping mortgage rates “at or near record low levels for the foreseeable future.”

As of the week ending August 30, 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged out at 3.59 percent, which was a significant drop from the 3.66 percent recorded for the week ended August 23. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were down to 2.86 percent from 2.89 percent, also between the weeks that ended August 23 and August 30. These numbers, courtesy of Freddie Mac, are considered among the most reliable measures of average mortgage rates in the United States.

To put things into perspective, 15-year and 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.39 percent and 4.22 percent respectively at this very same time in 2011. The record lows for each type of mortgage are 2.80 percent and 3.49 percent, both set in late July of this year.

Most buyers are seeing what they can do to take advantage of the lower rates, and according to McBride, they still have a lot of time to do so. “Mortgage rates will not run away from potential buyers and home prices are not likely to do so either,” said the Bankrate analyst, who considered the extra time some borrowers may need to reduce their debt or improve their credit rating.