30-Year Mortgage Rates Rise Again, Flirting with Historic Peak

Today's Mortgage Rates & Trends - Sept. 19, 2023

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Rates on 30-year mortgages rose again Monday, adding to the jump they saw Friday and pushing the flagship average almost back to the historic 22-year high it registered earlier this month. Averages for most other loan types were flat to mildly up Monday, with only a couple of averages declining.

The latest 30-year fixed-rate average is 7.82%. Since rates vary widely across lenders, so it's always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter what type of loan you're looking for.

National Averages of Lenders' Best Rates
Loan Type New Purchase Refinance
30-Year Fixed 7.82% 8.15%
FHA 30-Year Fixed 7.64% 7.92%
Jumbo 30-Year Fixed 7.02% 7.02%
15-Year Fixed 7.15% 7.20%
5/6 ARM 7.42% 7.52%
National averages of the lowest rates offered by more than 200 of the country's top lenders, with a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 80%, an applicant with a FICO credit score of 700–760, and no mortgage points.

Today's Mortgage Rate Averages: New Purchase

Rates on 30-year new purchase mortgages gained 6 basis points Monday, after jumping 16 basis points Friday. That raises the 30-year average to 7.82%, which is just barely below Sept. 7's historic reading of 7.84%—its highest mark since 2001.

Note

When Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage averages Aug. 24, it revealed that 30-year rates had hit a 22-year high. The Freddie Mac average that week was 7.23%, its highest reading since June 2001. The current average is slightly lower at 7.18%.

Freddie Mac’s averages differ from the averages we publish here due to Freddie Mac calculating a weekly average that blends five previous days of rates, and which may include loans priced with discount points. In contrast, Investopedia’s averages indicate daily rate movement and only include zero-point loans.

Monday rates on 15-year loans rose only a minor 2 basis points, nudging the average to 7.15%. Like 30-year rates, the 15-year average is now back within a couple of basis points of its recent peak—a 21-year high of 7.17% reached in mid-August.

Jumbo 30-year rates held steady for a second day Monday, at the average's high-water mark of 7.02%. Though daily jumbo averages are not available before 2009, it's reasonable to assume that August's peak average of 7.02% was the most expensive level reached for jumbo 30-year loans in at least 20 years.

The biggest climbers Monday were the FHA 30-year and VA 30-year averages, each of which gained 12 basis points, while the FHA 15-year average sank 11 basis points. The only other average to decline was a minor dip of 3 basis points for the 7/6 ARM average.

National Averages of Lenders' Best Rates - New Purchase
Loan Type New Purchase Rates Daily Change
30-Year Fixed 7.82% +0.06
FHA 30-Year Fixed 7.64% +0.12
VA 30-Year Fixed 7.64% +0.12
Jumbo 30-Year Fixed 7.02% No Change
20-Year Fixed 7.72% +0.07
15-Year Fixed 7.15% +0.02
FHA 15-Year Fixed 7.06% -0.11
Jumbo 15-Year Fixed 7.02% No Change
10-Year Fixed 7.13% +0.06
10/6 ARM 7.51% No Change
7/6 ARM 7.58% -0.03
Jumbo 7/6 ARM 6.83% No Change
5/6 ARM 7.42% +0.02
Jumbo 5/6 ARM 6.94% No Change

Today's Mortgage Rate Averages: Refinancing

Refinancing rates were flatter than new purchase rates Monday, with the 30-year average rising just 4 basis points and more than half the other loan averages holding steady or essentially steady. The current gap between the 30-year new purchase and refi averages is 33 basis points.

Refi rates for 15-year and jumbo 30-year loans were among those showing no change Monday, and the only refi average to move downward was the 10/6 ARM average, which subtracted 11 basis points.

National Averages of Lenders' Best Rates - Refinance
Loan Type Refinance Rates Daily Change
30-Year Fixed 8.15% +0.04
FHA 30-Year Fixed 7.92% +0.03
VA 30-Year Fixed 7.86% No Change
Jumbo 30-Year Fixed 7.02% No Change
20-Year Fixed 8.05% +0.04
15-Year Fixed 7.20% No Change
FHA 15-Year Fixed 7.31% +0.01
Jumbo 15-Year Fixed 7.02% No Change
10-Year Fixed 7.19% +0.03
10/6 ARM 7.79% -0.11
7/6 ARM 7.77% +0.01
Jumbo 7/6 ARM 6.94% No Change
5/6 ARM 7.52% +0.05
Jumbo 5/6 ARM 6.94% No Change

Calculate monthly payments for different loan scenarios with our Mortgage Calculator.

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,?while these rates are averages. Teaser rates?may involve paying points in advance, or they may be selected based on a hypothetical borrower with an ultra-high credit score or taking a smaller-than-typical loan.?The mortgage rate you ultimately secure will be based on factors like your credit score, income, and more, so it may be higher or lower than the averages you see here.

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.

The states with the lowest 30-year new purchase averages Thursday were Vermont, Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina, while the states with the highest averages were Nevada, Minnesota, Arizona, and Georgia.

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, especially 10-year Treasury yields
  • The Federal Reserve's current monetary policy, especially as it relates to bond buying and funding government-backed mortgages
  • 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 of mortgage rates.

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

Since that time, the Fed has been aggressively raising the federal funds rate to fight decades-high inflation. While the fed funds rate can influence mortgage rates, it does not directly do so. In fact, the fed funds rate and mortgage rates can move in opposite directions.

However, given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed's 2022 and 2023 rate increases—raising the benchmark rate a cumulative 5.25% over the last 18 months—even the indirect influence of the fed funds rate has resulted in an upward impact on mortgage rates over the last two years.

The Fed's next rate-setting meeting is scheduled to conclude Sept. 20, and financial markets have priced in a near-certainty that the central bank will hold rates steady this time. A rate increase in November or December is still a possibility, however, with traders forecasting odds of 35-40% of an increase being announced at one of those meetings.

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.

The words "Mortgage Rates for Tuesday 09.19.23" on a dark blue background with housing-related graphics

Investopedia / Alice Morgan

Article Sources
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  1. Freddie Mac. “The 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Reaches its Highest Level in Over Twenty Years.”

  2. Congressional Research Service. "Federal Reserve: Tapering of Asset Purchases," Page 1.

  3. CME Group, CME FedWatch Tool.