Rates for 30-year mortgages continue to ride an April roller coaster – April. 22, 2025

Mortgage rates are having a dramatic month—falling, surging, and falling again. The rate has changed direction once again. After a three-day increase, the average on Monday is now 7.03%. The rate movement was also up for other mortgage types.

No matter what type of home loan or mortgage you are looking for, it is wise to shop around and compare rates to find the best rate.

Compare Current Mortgage Rates – April 22, 2020

Today's New Purchase Mortgage Rate Averages

After a slight increase in the 30-year average new purchase mortgage rates on Thursday and Friday it made a bolder move on Monday, adding 7 basis point to reach a new average of 7.03%. The week before last, the flagship average had surged by a dramatic 44 basis points—reaching 7.14% on April 11 for its most expensive reading since late May.

In September, 30-year rates saw a historic plunge—sinking to a two-year low of 5.89%. The current average is over a percentage-point more expensive. Still, today's rates are nearly a percentage point better than in late 2023, when rates catapulted to a historic 23-year peak of 8.01%.

Rates for 15-year loans increased by 5 basis point Monday, taking the average up to 6.16%. That's still a an improvement vs. the April 11 average of 6.31%, which was the highest reading in almost a year. The 15-year average, like the 30-year rate, fell to its lowest level in two years, crashing to 4.97%, last September. Though today's 15-year average is elevated, it's more than 90 basis points below October 2023's historic 7.08% reading—a high since 2000.

In the meantime, jumbo 30 year mortgage rates rose by a mere 3 basis points, staying near the 7% threshold. The current average of 7.04% is still below the reading of 7.15% from a week prior, which was a 10-month-high. Last fall, jumbo 30-year rates sank to 6.24%, their cheapest level in 19 months, while it's estimated their 8.14% peak in October 2023 was the most expensive jumbo 30-year average in over 20 years.

The Weekly Freddie Mac Average

Freddie Mac, a government sponsored buyer of mortgages, publishes a weekly mortgage rate average every Thursday. Last week's reading plunged 21 basis points to 6.41%, largely capturing the drop in rates seen late last week. In September last year, the average rate fell as low as 6.08%. But back in October 2023, Freddie Mac's average saw a historic rise, surging to a 23-year peak of 7.79%.

Freddie Mac's average differs from what we report for 30-year rates because Freddie Mac calculates a weekly average that blends five previous days of rates. Investopedia 30 year average is a reading taken daily, which provides a more precise, timely indicator of rates. In addition, the criteria for included loans (e.g., amount of down payment, credit score, inclusion of discount points) varies between Freddie Mac's methodology and our own.

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The rates we publish won’t compare directly with teaser rates you see advertised online since those rates are cherry-picked as the most attractive vs. the averages you see here. Teaser rates may involve paying points in advance or may be based on a hypothetical borrower with an ultra-high credit score or for a smaller-than-typical loan. The rate that you will receive is based on your credit rating, income, etc., so it may vary from what you see.

What causes mortgage rates rise or fall?

Mortgage rates are determined by the complex interaction of macroeconomics and industry factors.

• The direction and level in which the bond market is moving, especially with regard to 10-year Treasury rates
• The Federal Reserve’s current policy on monetary policy. This includes bond purchases and government-backed mortgages.
• Mortgage lenders are competing with each other to offer different types of loans.

Because any number of these can cause fluctuations simultaneously, it's generally difficult to attribute the change to any one factor.

Macroeconomic factors kept mortgage rates low for most of 2021. The Federal Reserve bought billions of dollars’ worth of bonds to respond to the economic pressures caused by the pandemic. This bond-buying strategy is a major factor in determining mortgage rates.

The Fed will begin to taper its bond purchases in November 2021. Each month, it will make significant reductions until the net is zero in March 2022.

The Fed raised the federal fund rate aggressively between then and July 2023 to combat inflation that has been high for decades. While the fed fund rate can affect mortgage rates, it does not do so directly. The fed funds rate can actually move in the opposite direction to mortgage rates.

But given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed's 2022 and 2023 rate increases—raising the benchmark rate 5.25 percentage points over 16 months—even the indirect influence of the fed funds rate has resulted in a dramatic upward impact on mortgage rates over the last two years.

The Fed kept the federal funds rate at a peak level for nearly 14 months, starting in July 2023. In September, the Fed announced a rate cut of 0.50 percent, followed by quarter-point cuts in November and Decembre.

For its second meeting of 2025, however, the Fed opted to hold rates steady—and it’s possible the central bank may not make another rate cut for months. At its March 19 meeting, Fed released its quarterly forecast. It showed that at that time the central banks’ median expectation for rest of year was only two quarter point rate cuts. Eight rate-setting meetings are scheduled each year, so we could see several rate-hold announcements by 2025.

How We Track Mortgage Interest Rates

The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The rates that result are what borrowers will receive when they receive quotes from lenders, based on the qualifications of the borrower. These rates can differ from teaser rate advertisements. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Zillow’s Terms of Service apply.

Article Sources Investopedia requires that writers use primary sources in order to support their work. White papers, government statistics, original reporting and interviews with industry professionals are all examples. We also use original research from other reputable publications when appropriate. Our website contains more information about the standards that we use to produce accurate, unbiased content. Editorial policy

1. Freddie Mac. “Mortgage Rates."

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

3. Federal Reserve Board. “Summary Economic Projections for March 19, 2025,” page 4.