By Erik Braunitzer of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, agents for NYC Apartments.

It has been a tough couple of years for anyone trying to survive in this economy.  Growth has stagnated, and unemployment continues to remain perplexing high.  Real wages for most workers have barely budged over the past decade, making it very difficult even for people with jobs to improve their situations.

Homeowners may have had the worst of it over the past four years as they have felt the full brunt of decreasing home values.  Across the United States, home prices have fallen more than 30 percent with no end in sight.  Nearly 30 percent of all homeowners now have mortgages that are underwater; some analysts believe that this number could ultimately increase to 50 percent.

This has created a glut of foreclosed homes as former homeowners decide to simply abandon their properties rather than futilely make payments on a mortgage they will never be able to pay off.  This has put even more downward pressure on home prices as banks attempt to unload these properties as quickly as possible to recoup at least a portion of the original loan amount.

However there are some bright spots for homeowners looking to save money on their mortgage payments.  Thanks to the Federal Reserve, which has driven down interest rates to record lows in the attempt increase weak demand throughout the economy, mortgage rates have fallen to levels that have never before been seen.  For a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the average interest rate is only 3.91 percent.  For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, interest rates are even better at 3.23 percent.

For anyone who is struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments due to high interest rates, there has never been a better time to refinance.  It is exceedingly unlikely that rates will be able to fall any further; in addition, the Federal Reserve will not be able to maintain these low rates indefinitely, especially if inflation starts to become a problem.

Homeowners have a lot of options available to them when it comes to refinancing.  For those people who are looking to reduce the number of years required to pay off a mortgage, refinancing to a 15-year mortgage could be an option.  Alternatively those looking for an even lower monthly payment can still opt for a 30-year mortgage.

Of course, refinancing, which entails much paperwork and extra closing costs, is only one way to reduce both the number of years and the total interest paid on a mortgage.  Instead a homeowner can simply make additional payments on the mortgage on top of the required monthly payments.  The nice benefit of this strategy, which is called prepaying the mortgage, is that the extra money goes straight to the principal, which will reducing your interest costs in future months.

Another mortgage expense that a homeowner may be able to eliminate is private mortgage insurance.  Banks typically require homeowners to pay this insurance if they have less than 20 percent equity in the home.  If that level has been reached, the bank may have already canceled it; if not, it would be prudent to find out if the bank will do it as soon as possible.

Despite this tough economy, there are many ways that prepared homeowners can save money on their mortgages; all it takes is the will to see the plan into action.