Image by PM Images/Getty Images; Illustration by Hunter Newton/Bankrate
Mortgage rates dipped again this week, with the 30-year fixed rate falling to 6.31 percent, according to Bankrate’s latest lender survey. The benchmark mortgage hasn’t been this low since February 2023, and forecasters expect the downward trend to continue — at its meeting next week, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce its first rate cut since the pandemic.
Current mortgage rates
| Loan type | Current | 4 weeks ago | One year ago | 52-week average | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year | 6.31% | 6.59% | 7.41% | 7.13% | 6.31% |
| 15-year | 5.54% | 5.86% | 6.74% | 6.45% | 5.54% |
| 30-year jumbo | 6.52% | 6.76% | 7.23% | 7.14% | 6.52% |
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 a lender charges to create, review and process your loan.
Experts tell us: Will mortgage rates go down this upcoming week?
Monthly mortgage payment at today’s rates
“Mortgage rates have fallen since June, but there is evidence that even the decline in rates has not been enough to bring buyers back into the market,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, a large listing service in the mid-Atlantic region. That could be because homes remain expensive, and affordability is a challenge.
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 July 2024 was $422,600, a record, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20 percent down payment and a 6.31 percent mortgage rate, the monthly payment of $2,095 amounts to 26 percent of the typical family’s monthly income.
Will mortgage rates keep going down?
In the simplest sense, the economy drives whether mortgage rates go up or down. With a Fed rate cut all but certain in September, mortgage watchers expect rates to stay on a downtrend for now.
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 is often directly tied to 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 mortgage rates) downward. This can lead to day-to-day rate swings as news comes in.
Learn more: How are mortgage rates set?
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.
