Mortgage Rates Fall for a Second day, Falling Below A Welcome Threshold- April. 16, 2025

After soaring almost every single day last week the 30-year mortgage rate has dropped two consecutive days. After a significant drop on Tuesday, rates are now below 7%, with an average of 6.96%. The rates also fell for other types of mortgages.

It’s important to compare rates and shop around for the best mortgage rates, regardless of what type you want.

Compare Current Mortgage Interest Rates Today – April 16, 2025

Today's New Purchase Mortgage Rate Averages

Rates on 30-year purchase mortgages dropped another 11 basis points on Tuesday. This brings the average down to 6.96%, after a two-day fall of 18 points. Last week, the flagship average shot up 44 basis points—reaching 7.14% Friday for its most expensive reading since May 29.

In September, 30-year rates saw a historic plunge—sinking to a two-year low of 5.89%. The average rate has increased by over a percentage-point. Still, today's rates are 1.05 percentage points better than in late 2023, when rates catapulted to a historic 23-year peak of 8.01%.

The average rate on 15-year mortgages was also lowered by a bold 11 basis point Tuesday, bringing it down to 6.08%. That's a widening improvement from Friday's 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, a plummeting 4.97%, last September. Though today's 15-year average is elevated, it's one full percentage point below October 2023's historic 7.08% reading—a high since 2000.

Jumbo 30-year mortgage rates also declined, shedding 10 basis points to average 7.03%—an improvement vs. Friday's 7.15% reading. 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 inched down 2 basis points to 6.62%, as it largely captured 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 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 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 determined through a complex interplay of macroeconomic factors and industry factors such as:

• The level and direction in the bond market, particularly 10-year Treasury rates
• The Federal Reserve’s current monetary policies, particularly as they relate to bond buying and funding of government-backed loans
• Mortgage lenders compete with each other for different 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 have kept the mortgage market low for most of 2021. The Federal Reserve, in particular, had bought billions of dollar bonds as a response to the economic pressures brought on by the pandemic. This bond-buying program is a major influencer on mortgage rates.

Starting in November 2021 the Fed will begin to reduce its bond purchases, making significant monthly reductions until reaching net zero by March 2022.

The Fed raised the federal fund rate aggressively between then and July 2023 to combat inflation that has been high for decades. The fed funds can indirectly influence mortgage rates but not directly. 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 maintained its federal funds rate near its highest level for almost 14-months, starting in July of 2023. In September, however, the central bank announced its first rate cut, which was 0.50 percentage points. This was followed by a quarter-point reduction in November and December.

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 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 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. Where appropriate, we also reference original research by other reputable publishers. Learn more about our standards for producing accurate and unbiased content by visiting our 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.