Mortgage Rates Fall for the Fourth Time in a week, Falling to a New 3-Week-Low – April. 4, 2025

Rates for new 30-year loans dipped Thursday to a 6.75% average—declining over four of the last five market days and retreating from a six-week high. The rates for many other types of mortgages have also fallen.

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 – Today, April 4, 2025

Today's New Purchase Mortgage Rate Averages

Rates on 30-year purchase mortgages dropped 3 basis points last Thursday. The new 6.75% average represents a decline of 10 basis points over the past week, but still leaves rates a quarter percentage point above this year's low of 6.50%.

In January however, the average 30-year rate soared up to 7.13%. This was its highest level in October. So today's rates are substantially improved vs. three months ago. They're also 1.26 percentage points cheaper than the historic 23-year peak of 8.01% in October 2023.

In contrast, last September saw 30-year rates plunge—sinking to a two-year low of 5.89%. The relief, however was only temporary, as the average jumped almost 1.25 points in the following three months.

Rates on 15-year mortgages slipped 4 basis points, lowering Thursday's average to 5.84%. That's compared to a recent four-month low of 5.60%. In September, the 15-year rate average fell to its lowest level in two years, averaging 4.97%. Though today's 15-year average is elevated, it's almost 1.25 percentage points below October 2023's historic 7.08% reading—a high since 2000.

The average jumbo 30 year mortgage rate remained steady Thursday at 6.73%, which is a new low for three weeks. Last fall, 30-year jumbo rates fell to their lowest level in nearly 19 months, 6.24%. Meanwhile, it's estimated their 8.14% peak in October 2023 was the most expensive jumbo 30-year average in 20-plus years.

The Weekly Freddie Mac Average

Freddie Mac, a government sponsored buyer of mortgages, publishes a 30-year average mortgage rate every Thursday. Yesterday's reading inched down a single basis point to 6.64%. In September last year, the average 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 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 by the complex interaction of macroeconomics and industry factors.

• 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 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 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.

Fed aggressively increased the federal funds rate between July 2023 and then to fight the inflation which has been high since the 1970s. 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, starting 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. In 2025, we may see several rate freezes 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 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 advertised teaser rate. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. The Zillow Terms and Conditions of Use 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. 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 for March 19, 2025,” page 4.