Mortgage rates › 30-year fixed
The 30-year fixed is the most common mortgage in America — and the most misunderstood. Here’s what rates look like today, what actually moves the number you’re offered, and how to find out where you’d land.
Licensed in Georgia, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and Alabama.
Today’s 30-year fixed
740+ credit · 20% down · conventional · purchase
Updated July 26, 2026 10:03am ET — National average from our lender network — not a quote for your scenario.
Why you’ll see two different numbers
There is no single “mortgage rate.” There are two different measurements, published by different people, on different schedules. Most sites quietly pick one. Here’s both.
Live lender pricing
Sourced from our lender network via Zillow, updated daily. Moves with the bond market. This is closer to what you’d actually be quoted — but it assumes a strong borrower profile.
The weekly benchmark
The Primary Mortgage Market Survey, published every Thursday. It’s the number the news quotes. It’s a lagging weekly average, so it moves slower and sits higher when rates are falling.
Neither one is your rate. Both are averages built on assumptions — strong credit, 20% down, a standard property. The only number that matters is the one you qualify for. How we source our rate data →
Where the benchmark has moved over the past 12 months.
The part nobody shows you
Most rate tables show every loan program under one set of assumptions — usually a pristine borrower with 20% down. That’s not how lending works. An FHA loan priced for someone with 20% down is a loan almost nobody takes. So we show each program the way its actual borrower would get it, and we tell you exactly what we assumed.
Assumes 740+ credit · 20% down · conforming loan amount
| Product | Interest rate | APR |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed-rate | 6.539% | 6.551% |
| 20-year fixed-rate | 6.365% | 6.377% |
| 15-year fixed-rate | 6.078% | 6.096% |
| 10-year fixed-rate | 6.062% | 6.078% |
| 7-year ARM | 6.375% | 6.438% |
| 5-year ARM | 6.8% | 6.653% |
This is the borrower conventional lending is priced for: strong credit, real equity, no mortgage insurance. Every product returns data at this profile.
Assumes under 680 credit · 3.5% down · conforming loan amount
| Product | Interest rate | APR |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed-rate FHA | 6.125% | 7.15% |
| 15-year fixed-rate FHA | 5.5% | 6.524% |
FHA exists for buyers with less cash and thinner credit files. Pricing it at 20% down would be pricing a loan nobody takes — so we don’t. Note the rate looks competitive here; the real cost of FHA lives in the mortgage insurance, not the rate.
Assumes 0% down · conforming loan amount · eligible service history
| Product | Interest rate | APR |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed-rate VA | 6.071% | 6.294% |
| 15-year fixed-rate VA | 5.955% | 6.284% |
VA consistently prices below conventional and moves less with credit than any other program. If you’re eligible, it is very often the cheapest loan available to you — and no down payment is required.
Our rate data is an average of what lenders are actively quoting. When a dash appears, it means too few lenders are quoting that specific combination to produce an honest average — usually because almost nobody takes that loan. We’d rather show you nothing than show you a number built on three quotes.
Notice what these tables can’t tell you: whether you get the rate in them. Credit tiers are wide — a 660 and a 610 both fall under “680,” and they price very differently. The only way to know your number is to run your actual file.
Rates shown are national averages of active lender quotes, updated daily, sourced via Zillow Group. They are not offers of credit and not quotes for your scenario. Your rate depends on the full picture — see below.
Lenders don’t price a rate. They price you. Seven inputs do almost all the work.
Biggest single lever
The difference between a 640 and a 740 can be more than a full percentage point. Lenders price in tiers, so gaining 20 points can matter enormously — or not at all, depending on where you land.
Large impact
Lenders think in loan-to-value. More money down means less risk, and usually a better rate. Below 20% down, you’ll also carry mortgage insurance — which raises your real monthly cost even if the rate looks fine.
Moderate impact
Very small loans and jumbo-sized loans both price differently than the conforming middle. Crossing the conforming limit changes the product you’re in, not just the rate.
Large impact
A primary residence prices best. Second homes cost more. Investment properties cost more still. Condos and multi-unit properties carry their own adjustments on top.
You choose this one
You can pay upfront to buy the rate down — typically 1% of the loan for roughly 0.25% off the rate. Worth it only if you’ll keep the loan past the break-even point. See below.
Large impact
Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA all price differently, and the cheapest headline rate isn’t always the cheapest loan once mortgage insurance and fees are counted. A VA loan often beats conventional outright if you’re eligible.
Finance your home with a loan with a fixed rate over 30 years
Your loan payment is fixed and never changes
Pay down your loan balance over time and build equity in your home
Discount points are the one rate lever you fully control. They’re also the one most often sold badly.
Paying one point — 1% of the loan amount — typically buys roughly 0.25% off your rate. On a $400,000 loan, that’s $4,000 upfront.
That $4,000 might save around $65 a month. Divide, and you break even at about 62 months. Sell or refinance before then, and you lost money.
Points make sense if you’re confident you’ll hold the loan past break-even. If rates are expected to fall, or you may move in five years, they usually don’t.
The average American mortgage doesn’t survive to its break-even point. Ask any lender pushing points to show you the math on the specific loan you’re taking — not a generic example.
The 15-year always carries a lower rate. That doesn’t automatically make it the better loan.
Assumes 740+ credit · 20% down · conforming loan amount
| Product | Interest rate | APR |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed-rate | 6.598% | 6.6% |
| 15-year fixed-rate | 6.16% | 6.163% |
A lower rate, and far less total interest — often hundreds of thousands of dollars less over the life of the loan. You own the house outright in half the time.
A much higher required monthly payment — and “required” is the operative word. It is due every month whether or not your income holds up.
Here’s the part most lenders won’t tell you: a 30-year loan with voluntary extra principal payments gets you most of the interest savings while keeping the flexibility to stop in a bad month.
The 15-year takes that choice away from you and charges you a slightly lower rate for the privilege. For most borrowers, the 30-year with discipline is the better instrument.
Take the 15-year if the higher payment is comfortably affordable and you know you won’t use the flexibility anyway. Otherwise, don’t let a lower rate talk you into a payment you’ll resent.
Once you’re under contract, you can freeze your rate while your loan is processed. Here’s how to think about it.
Lock
A typical lock runs 30–60 days. If rates rise before you close, you keep your locked rate. If they fall, you’re generally stuck — unless your lender offers a float-down.
Float
You keep the ability to capture a lower rate, but you carry the risk of a higher one. Over a 30-day window, that’s a coin flip on a number that changes your payment for decades.
Our honest take: most borrowers should lock once they’re under contract. The upside of floating is modest; the downside can cost you the house. If you’re going to float, do it deliberately — not by forgetting to decide.
“Good” only means something relative to your profile. The live national average is at the top of this page — but that’s the headline, not your number. A borrower with a 780 score and 25% down may be offered meaningfully less, while a 650 score with 5% down could be offered more than a point higher. Compare yourself to borrowers like you, not to the headline.
Conventional loans generally start at 620. FHA can go lower, often to 580 with 3.5% down. But the minimum to qualify and the score to get good pricing are two different things — the best conventional pricing usually starts around 740.
The interest rate is what you pay on the balance. The APR folds in lender fees and points, expressed as a yearly rate, so it’s a fuller picture of the loan’s cost. A low rate with a high APR usually means heavy fees. Compare APRs when comparing lenders — but compare rates when comparing timing.
Advertised rates almost always assume the ideal borrower: excellent credit, 20%+ down, a single-family primary residence, and often discount points already paid. Your quote reflects your actual profile. That’s not a bait and switch — it’s just what averages are.
Nobody knows, including us. Rates follow the bond market, which follows inflation and Fed policy. Forecasts from Fannie Mae and the MBA are published regularly, and they’re frequently wrong. Decide based on whether the payment works for you today, not on a prediction.
Usually, yes — and that’s a real part of the calculus. If you buy today and rates later fall by a point or more, refinancing can capture most of the difference for a few thousand in closing costs. This is why “marry the house, date the rate” isn’t just a slogan. But don’t buy a payment you can’t afford on the assumption rates will save you.
Lender pricing can move daily, sometimes intraday when the bond market is volatile. The Freddie Mac survey figure quoted in the news updates once a week, on Thursdays. That’s why the two numbers on this page rarely match exactly.
Owner, Andes Mortgage LLC · NMLS #2187991 · Licensed mortgage broker since 2013 · Background in mathematics and finance
Marcos has originated mortgages across Georgia, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and Alabama since 2013. Andes Mortgage is a broker, not a lender — meaning we shop your file across 40+ wholesale lenders rather than selling you one company’s product.
Last reviewed: July 2026 · Rate data updated daily (lender pricing) and weekly (Freddie Mac PMMS).
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