30-Year Mortgage Rates Hovering Near 3-Week Low

Averages for most mortgage types either held steady or hovered by a minimal basis point Friday. That includes the 30-year mortgage average, which dropped a single point, leaving it just a bit above its three-week low.

The latest 30-year fixed-rate average is 7.52%. Since rates vary widely across lenders, it’s always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter what type of loan you’re seeking.

Today’s Mortgage Rate Averages: New Purchase

Rates on 30-year mortgages dipped by a single basis point Friday, ending the week at 7.52%. That leaves the flagship average just a few basis points above last Wednesday’s three-week low of 7.48%, and more than a quarter percentage point under the 7.80% high point it registered August 22. That historic peak was the most expensive 30-year average in 22 years.

Rates on 15-year loans meanwhile added a single basis point. Now up to 7.03%, the 15-year average is only 14 basis points below its 21-year high of 7.17%, which was reached about ten days ago.

Jumbo 30-year rates again marched in place Friday, averaging 6.77% for a fourth consecutive day. Daily jumbo averages are not available from any source before 2009, but it’s fair to assume the August 22 peak of 7.02% was also the highest level seen in 20-plus years.

Only a few averages moved more than one basis point Friday. The VA 30-year and FHA 15-year averages tacked on 6 basis points each, while the FHA 30-year average added 3 basis points.

Today’s Mortgage Rate Averages: Refinancing

Friday’s refinancing rates moved mostly similarly to new purchase rates, with the exception that the 10/6 ARM refi average dropped a more notable 7 basis points. Most other averages held steady or moved a single point, including the 30-year refi average dipping 1 basis points. That keeps the current spread between 30-year new purchase and refi rates at 41 basis points.

For its part, the 15-year refi average added 2 basis points Friday, while the jumbo 30-year refi average was flat like its new purchase sibling.

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Lowest Mortgage Rates by State

The lowest mortgage rates available vary depending on the state where originations occur. Mortgage rates can be influenced by state-level variations in credit score, average mortgage loan type, and size, in addition to individual lenders’ varying risk management strategies.

What Causes Mortgage Rates to Rise or Fall?

Mortgage rates are determined by a complex interaction of macroeconomic and industry factors, such as the level and direction of the bond market, including 10-year Treasury yields; the Federal Reserve’s current monetary policy, especially as it relates to funding government-backed mortgages; and competition between mortgage lenders and across loan types. Because fluctuations can be caused by any number of these at once, it’s generally difficult to attribute the change to any one factor.

Macroeconomic factors kept the mortgage market relatively low for much of 2021. In particular, the Federal Reserve had been buying billions of dollars of bonds in response to the pandemic’s economic pressures. This bond-buying policy is a major influencer on mortgage rates.

But starting in November 2021, the Fed began tapering its bond purchases downward, making sizable reductions each month until reaching net-zero in March 2022.

The federal funds rate, which is set every six to eight weeks by the Fed’s rate and policy committee—the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)—can also influence mortgage rates. However, it does not directly drive mortgage rates, and in fact, the fed funds rate and mortgage rates can move in opposite directions.

At its latest meeting, which concluded on July 26, the Fed hiked rates by a widely expected 25 basis points, raising the fed funds rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that because inflation is still above the Fed’s target rate of 2%, the rate-setting committee could either raise rates again or pause when it meets on Sept. 20, depending on economic conditions.

Methodology

The national averages cited above were calculated based on the lowest rate offered by more than 200 of the country’s top lenders, assuming a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 80% and an applicant with a FICO credit score in the 700–760 range. The resulting rates are representative of what customers should expect to see when receiving actual quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates.

For our map of the best state rates, the lowest rate currently offered by a surveyed lender in that state is listed, assuming the same parameters of an 80% LTV and a credit score between 700–760.