30-Year Mortgage Rates Finally Take a Breather—Falling for the First Time in a Week – Apr. 15, 2025

After a four-day surge in 30-year mortgage rates, the trend has finally shifted the other way. The flagship average dipped to 7.07% Monday—erasing most of its Friday jump. The rates for many other types of mortgages also dropped.

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 15, 2020

Today's New Purchase Mortgage Rate Averages

Monday, rates on 30-year mortgages for new purchases fell 7 basis points. The average rate for the first day of the week was 7.07%. Over the previous five days, the average had shot up 44 basis points—reaching 7.14% Friday for its most expensive reading since May 29.

Last September, 30-year rates saw a historic plunge—sinking to a two-year low of 5.89%. The current average rate is almost 1.2 percentage points higher. Still, today's rates are 94 basis points improved vs. late 2023, when rates catapulted to a historic 23-year peak of 8.01%.

The average rate on 15-year mortgages dropped by a more aggressive 12 basis points on Monday, bringing it down to 6.19%. That's an improvement from Friday's 6.31%, which was the highest reading in almost a year. In September last year, the 15-year rate average also fell to its lowest level for two years. It plummeted to 4.97%. Though today's 15-year average is elevated, it's still almost 90 basis points below October 2023's historic 7.08% reading—a high since 2000.

Jumbo 30-year mortgages rates saw a slight dip, falling by just 2 basis points. They remain near their highest level since late May. 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

Every Thursday, Freddie Mac publishes a weekly mortgage rate average. Last week's reading inched down 2 basis points to 6.62%, as it largely captured the drop in rates seen late last week. In September of last year, rates dropped as low as 6.08 percent on average. 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 accurate, timely indication 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 to rise or fall?

Mortgage rates are determined through a complex interplay of macroeconomic factors and industry factors such as:

• The level and direction in the bond market, notably 10-year Treasury rates
• The Federal Reserve’s current monetary policies, particularly as they relate to bond buying and funding of government-backed loans
• Competition between mortgage lenders across loan types

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

Macroeconomic factors remained the main reason for the relatively low mortgage market in 2021. In response to the economic pressures brought on by the pandemic, the Federal Reserve purchased billions in bonds. 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.

Fed aggressively increased the federal funds rate between July 2023 and then to combat the inflationary levels that have been in place for decades. While the fed fund rate can affect mortgage rates, it does not do so directly. In fact, mortgage rates and the fed funds interest rate can move in opposite ways.

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 maintained its federal funds rate near its highest level for almost 14-months, beginning in July of 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. The Fed released their quarterly rate forecast at their meeting on March 19, which showed that the central bankers’ median expectations for the remainder of the year were only two quarter-point rates 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 resulting rates are what borrowers will receive when receiving quotes from lending institutions based on qualifications. They may differ from advertised teaser rate. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Zillow’s Terms of Service apply.

Article Sources Investopedia asks writers to use primary resources to support their writing. 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.