| Loan Type | New Purchase Rates | Daily Change |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.87% | +0.01 |
| FHA 30-Year Fixed | 7.55% | No Change |
| VA 30-Year Fixed | 6.58% | +0.03 |
| 20-Year Fixed | 6.73% | +0.07 |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.90% | +0.02 |
| FHA 15-Year Fixed | 6.76% | No Change |
| 10-Year Fixed | 5.92% | +0.39 |
| 7/6 ARM | 7.40% | -0.02 |
| 5/6 ARM | 7.47% | -0.01 |
| Jumbo 30-Year Fixed | 6.79% | -0.07 |
| Jumbo 15-Year Fixed | 6.79% | -0.09 |
| Jumbo 7/6 ARM | 7.28% | +0.06 |
| Jumbo 5/6 ARM | 7.23% | +0.03 |
| Provided via the Zillow Mortgage API |
The Weekly Freddie Mac Average
Every Thursday, Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored buyer of mortgage loans, publishes a weekly average of 30-year mortgage rates. Last week’s reading climbed 5 basis points to 6.72%, still significantly higher than September’s 6.08%. However, in October 2023, Freddie Mac’s average surged to a historic 7.79%, the highest in 23 years.
Freddie Mac’s average differs from ours because it calculates a weekly average based on the past five days of rates, while our Investopedia 30-year average reflects daily rates, providing a more precise and timely gauge of rate movement. Additionally, Freddie Mac’s methodology includes different loan criteria—such as down payment amount, credit score, and the inclusion of discount points—compared to our own.
Calculate monthly payments for different loan scenarios with our Mortgage Calculator.
Important
The rates we publish are averages and won’t directly compare to the teaser rates often advertised online. Those rates are typically cherry-picked to be the most attractive and may involve paying points upfront or be based on a hypothetical borrower with an ultra-high credit score or a smaller-than-typical loan. The rate you actually secure will depend on factors like your credit score, income, and more, so it may differ from the averages you see here.
What Causes Mortgage Rates to Rise or Fall?
Mortgage rates are influenced by a mix of macroeconomic factors and industry dynamics, including:
- The level and direction of the bond market, particularly 10-year Treasury yields
- The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, especially regarding bond buying and funding government-backed mortgages
- Competition among mortgage lenders and across different loan types
These factors can all fluctuate simultaneously, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of rate changes.
In 2021, macroeconomic conditions kept mortgage rates relatively low, with the Federal Reserve buying billions of dollars in bonds to counteract the pandemic’s economic effects. This bond-buying policy was a key driver of mortgage rates during that time.
However, starting in November 2021, the Fed began reducing its bond purchases, tapering down until reaching zero in March 2022. Then, from 2022 to 2023, the Fed aggressively raised the federal funds rate to combat decades-high inflation.
While the fed funds rate can influence mortgage rates, it doesn’t do so directly. In fact, the fed funds rate and mortgage rates can sometimes move in opposite directions. But given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed’s 2022 and 2023 rate increases—raising the benchmark rate 5.25 percentage points over 16 months—mortgage rates surged during this period, reflecting the ripple effects of the Fed’s dramatic campaign.
The Fed maintained the federal funds rate at its peak level for almost 14 months, beginning in July 2023. But last September, the central bank announced a first rate cut of 0.50 percentage points, and then followed that with quarter-point reductions in November and December.
So far in 2025, the Fed has held rates steady through four meetings, and it’s likely that no further cuts will occur until September at the earliest. The Fed’s quarterly forecast released in mid-June, which indicated the central bankers’ median expectation at that time of where the fed funds rate was headed, showed only two quarter-point rate cuts for the remainder of the year, suggesting the remaining four meetings could involve additional rate holds.
How We Track Mortgage Rates
The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when receiving quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.
