30-Year mortgage rates Yo-Yo lower, sinking below recent high – Mar. 20, 2025

After reaching a four-week peak the day before, the 30-year mortgage rate dropped to an average of 6,82% on Wednesday. Rates for other types of mortgages also dropped points.

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

Compare Current Mortgage Interest Rates – 20 March 2025

Today's New Purchase Mortgage Rate Averages

After matching a four week high the day before, rates on 30-year new mortgages fell 2 basis points to a two-week low on Wednesday. The national average now stands at 6.82%. This is about a third point higher than the 2025 low rate of 6.50%.

In January, the average 30-year rate jumped up to 7.13%. This was its highest level in October. So today's rates are still significantly improved vs. two months ago. They're also nearly 1.2 percentage points cheaper than the historic 23-year peak of 8.01% reached in October 2023.

But last September, 30-year rates plunged—sinking as far as a two-year low of 5.89%. In the following three months, the average increased by almost 1.25 percent points.

Rates on 15-year mortgages decreased by 4 basis points Wednesday, reaching a 5.97% average—still 37 points higher than their recent four-month low. In September, 15-year mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in two years, falling as low as 4.97%. Though today's 15-year average is elevated, it's 1.11 percentage points below October 2023's historic 7.08% reading—a high since 2000.

Jumbo 30-year rates fell 4 basis points, pushing the average up to 6.87%. Last fall, the jumbo 30-year rate plummeted from 6.24% to 6.24%. This was their lowest level in 19 month. Meanwhile, it's estimated that the 8.14% peak of October 2023 was the most expensive jumbo 30-year average in 20-plus years.

The Weekly Freddie Mac Average

Every Thursday Freddie Mac, a government sponsored buyer of mortgages, publishes a 30-year average mortgage rate. This week's reading edged up just 2 basis points to 6.67%. In September of last year, averages fell as far as 6.08 percent. 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.

Calculate monthly payment for different loan scenarios using our Mortgage Calculator.

You can also read about the importance of this in

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 you receive will depend on your credit score, your income, and other factors. It may differ from the averages shown here.

What causes mortgage rates to rise or fall?

Mortgage rates are influenced by a complex combination of macroeconomic and industrial factors, including:

• The direction and level of the bond markets, particularly 10-year Treasury yields
• 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 forces kept the mortgage market at a relatively low level for much 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 influencer on 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. The fed funds rate does not directly affect mortgage rates. The Fed Funds Rate and mortgage rates can even move in opposite directions.

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. In 2025, we may see multiple rate holds announced. There are eight rate-setting sessions scheduled per year.

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 they receive quotes from lenders, based on the qualifications of the borrower. These rates can differ from teaser rate advertisements. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. The Zillow Terms and Conditions of Use apply.

Article Sources Investopedia requires that writers use primary sources in order to support their work. These include whitepapers, government data and original reporting as well as interviews with industry experts. 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, 19 March 2025,” Page 4.