Mortgage rates hold steady, 30-year remains at 7%
Current mortgage rates
| Loan type | Current | 4 weeks ago | One year ago | 52-week average | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year | 7.00% | 6.59% | 7.66% | 6.93% | 6.20% |
| 15-year | 6.19% | 5.86% | 6.91% | 6.25% | 5.40% |
| 30-year jumbo | 6.97% | 6.62% | 7.55% | 6.97% | 6.36% |
The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.27 discount and origination points. Discount points are a way for you to reduce your mortgage rate, while origination points are fees lenders charge to create, review and process your loan.
Monthly mortgage payment at today’s rates
The national median family income for 2024 is $97,800, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in September 2024 was $404,500, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20 percent down payment and a 7 percent mortgage rate, the monthly payment of $2,153 amounts to 26 percent of the typical family’s monthly income.
How much higher can mortgage rates go?
Fixed mortgage rates are not set directly by the Fed, but by investor appetite, particularly for 10-year Treasury bonds. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate moves with the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond. When there’s uncertainty in the market, investors buy Treasury bonds, which in turn drives yields — and, often, mortgage rates — downward. This can lead to day-to-day rate swings as news comes in.
“This is the first time in seven months inflation has increased, creating uncertainty around the outlook for future Fed interest rate cuts,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “In September, the Fed had been indicating the possibility of six quarter point rate cuts before the end of 2025. If inflation reverses course, the Fed would likely reconsider its plans for cutting rates.”
Meanwhile, housing economists and mortgage players have seized on a new narrative — that four more years of President-elect Donald Trump will mean ever-growing deficits. “Mortgage rates continued to increase last week, driven by higher Treasury yields as financial markets digested the likely impacts of a Trump presidency,” says Joel Kan, deputy chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Then there’s the Federal Reserve. Lenders and mortgage investors had been anticipating the Fed’s September rate cut, and economic indicators such as hiring have shown signs of strength. The central bank cut rates again in November, but mortgage rates have risen more than three-quarters of a percentage point since the Fed’s September rate cut.
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The Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the Bankrate.com national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We’ve conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it’s consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. “Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types — thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies — is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,” according to Freddie Mac.
