30-Year Mortgage Rates Shoot Back Up, Returning to 8% Territory

After wavering in the upper 7% range for a week and half, rates on 30-year mortgages jumped back into 8% territory Monday, reaching 8.07%. Rates for almost every loan type were up by double-digit basis points, and the 5/6 ARM average hit a new record of 8.00%.

Since rate vary widely across lenders, it's always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter what type of loan you're seeking.

Today's Mortgage Rate Averages: New Purchase

Rates on 30-year new purchase loans climbed back into the 8% range Monday, with a 16-basis-point spike to 8.07%. The flagship average had dipped below the 8% mark on Nov. 2, wavering since then in the upper-7% territory. Rates for every loan type jumped Monday, with the vast majority of new purchase averages adding an eighth to a quarter percentage point.

Rates on 15-year rate loans added 12 basis points, rising to 7.37%. That's less than a quarter percentage point under the record peak of 7.59% recorded Oct. 23, which was the highest 15-year average seen since 2000.

Jumbo 30-year rates also rose by roughly an eighth of a percentage point, tacking on 13 basis points to reach 7.19%. Though daily jumbo rates are not available before 2009, it's estimated that the 7.52% peak on Oct. 19 was the most expensive average for jumbo 30-year loans in more than 20 years.

Only two new purchase averages moved less than a tenth of a point, with the FHA 30-year average gaining just 8 basis points and the FHA 15-year average relatively flat with a 3-basis-point increase. Meanwhile, the 5/6 adjustable-rate average shot up 14 basis points to reach 8.00% for the first time since we began tracking mortgage averages in 2021.

Today's Mortgage Rate Averages: Refinancing

Although refinancing rates as a group moved a little less dramatically Monday than their new purchase counterparts, the 30-year refi average showed more substantial movement. Rising 22 basis points, the 30-year refi average is now 49 basis points higher than the 30-year new purchase average.

Other notable movers among refi rates Monday were the 20-year and jumbo 15-year refi averages, which each surged 25 basis points higher.

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

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 were Vermont, Delaware, Mississippi, and North Dakota, while the states with the highest averages were Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

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 November 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 5.25 percentage points 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 has opted to hold rates steady at its last two meetings, which concluded Sept. 20 and Nov. 1. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell has made it clear that another rate increase is still possible at a future meeting. The Fed’s next rate announcement will be made Dec. 13.

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.