Mortgage rates backed down Monday, building a yo-yo pattern over the past week-plus that sits a bit below recent highs, when averages came close to their most expensive levels of the calendar year.
Today’s National Mortgage Rate Averages
After rising Friday, the only day last week that rates saw an upswing, mortgage averages fell back Monday. The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped four basis points, to 3.23%., which is now 11 points under the 2021 high of 3.34%. Compared to early August, however, when a major rate drop brought the 30-year average down to 2.89%, today’s rate is a third of a percentage point more expensive.
The 15-year rate average also shed four points Monday, resting at 2.51%, which is now nine basis points below its YTD high. Meanwhile, the Jumbo 30-year average held steady at 3.42%, just four points lower than its highest rate of 2021. These averages are roughly a third of a percentage point above the early-August dip.
Refinance rates behaved similarly Monday, with the 30-year refinance average losing five points, the 15-year average dropping two, and the Jumbo 30-year average remaining flat. Rates to refinance 30-year and 15-year loans are currently 10 to 17 basis points more costly than new purchase rates.
Important:
The rates you see here generally won’t compare directly with teaser rates you see advertised online, since those rates are cherry-picked as the most attractive. They may involve paying points in advance, or may be selected based on a hypothetical borrower with an ultra-high credit score or taking a smaller-than-typical loan given the value of the home.
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 term, and size, as well as individual lenders’ varying risk management strategies.
These rates are surveyed directly from over 200 top lenders.
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 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 have kept the mortgage market relatively low for the last several months. In particular, the Federal Reserve has been buying billions of dollars of bonds and continues to do so. This bond-buying policy (and not the more publicized federal funds rate) is a major influencer on mortgage rates.
But Fed policy could soon change. The Fed’s rate and policy committee, called the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), meets every 6-8 weeks, and concluded their latest meeting September 22. Though they did not yet announce a change to their bond-buying plans, a majority of Fed members indicated they favor beginning to taper the stimulus by the end of 2021.
The next scheduled FOMC event will be their November 2-3 rate-setting meeting.
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.