Mortgage rates will probably stay about the same in August. If they change, they're more likely to go down than up. Even if mortgage rates fall a little bit, it won't be enough to wake up the sleepy housing market. When would-be home buyers dream, visions of mortgage rates below 6.5% dance in their heads. But rates won't fall that low in August.

Mortgage rates retreated this week, with the 30-year fixed rate averaging 6.75 percent, compared to 6.76 percent the previous week, according to Bankrate’s latest lender survey.