l just locked-in a rate of 5.99% for a new home. If interest rates fall to an all time low, how long must l have a loan before l can refinance? l realize that 5.99% is alreay pretty low (considering the rates were increasing this week), but what if they continue to fall?

They wo not fall for much longer.

And historically, 5.99% is extremely low.

My mom & dad paid 18% for a government loan, in 1978
l paid 12% in 1987 and then 10% in '90

Husband & l paid 5.58% in '04 when they were giving money away.

Just stick to this for a while and pay more than your minimum.

Get out from under all debt, things are only going to get worse.

Good luck

Rule of thumb is that you should not refinance if you do not drop your rate by 1%. That is a very good rate.
Couple of things you need to consider is
(1) how much you would pay for a new loan?
(2) how long to save the amount you pay for (1)?

If you plan to stay in your house for longer than (2), then you can consider refinancing.

Finally, before you refi., make sure you do not have a pre-payment penalty

5.99% is a great rate. Assuming it is a fixed rate even if the rate drops another 1/8 of a point or so prior to u closing it is not going to drastically increase savings for u & it is not going to make much of a difference in ur monthly payment depending on ur amortization (i.e 30 years, 15 years etc.) Additionally,the national average home owner moves every 3 years so it will not necessarily impact u long term if rates do drop. Depending on ur equity position, u could potentially refinance within 6 months, however the cost of obtaining new financing (generally around 3% of ur loan amount) will be incurred every time u refinance & u will likely not see a benefit of refinancing even if rates do continue to drop as the cost of obtaining the new loan will likely exceed ur savings in a rate/term refinance. Overall, at 5.99% l would not concern yourself too much with ''what if''.

The bigger picture is how much is it going to cost you to refinance. A refinance is going to cost you thousands of dollars. Your interest rate is going to have to be historical to make this work for you. Do not get sucked into the ''no closing costs'' refinance, if you do not pay closing costs up front, you are paying somewhere else.

l would not concern myself if l were you. Enjoy your great rate.