Mortgage Rates Dip To 15-Month Low

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Current mortgage rates

The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.31 discount and origination points. Discount points are a way to lower your mortgage rate, while origination points are fees lenders charge to create, review and process your loan.

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Monthly mortgage payment at today’s rates

The national median family income for 2025 was $104,200, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in November 2025 was $409,200, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20% down payment and a 6.24% mortgage rate, the monthly payment of $2,013 amounts to about 23% of the typical family’s monthly income.

“With more housing inventory coming online and home prices starting to level off, this remains a promising environment for those looking to buy or refinance,” says Samir Dedhia, CEO of One Real Mortgage.  

What will happen to mortgage rates in 2026?

At the end of 2025, all eyes in the mortgage market were on the delayed release of third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. That report came Dec. 23 from the Commerce Department, which said the U.S. economy expanded at a surprisingly strong 4.3% in the summer months.

What does that mean for mortgage rates? The old saw is that good economic news boosts mortgage rates, while bad economic news pushes them down.

“I expect the average 30-year fixed rate to fall below 6% for the first time since the summer of 2022,” says Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior industry analyst. “It could go as low as 5.5%, given anticipated Fed rate cuts and a recession scare. But stubbornly high inflation readings and rumblings of a less independent Fed could apply upward pressure at other times of the year. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate should bounce around 6% — sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher — throughout much of 2026.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association is more optimistic about the U.S. economy — and pessimistic about mortgage rates. While some housing economists do expect 30-year mortgage rates to dip below 6% in 2026, the trade group sees a growing economy and stubborn inflation, and therefore expects mortgage rates to hold at 6.4% for the entire year.

• Methodology
  

  The Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the Bankrate.com national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We’ve conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it’s consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. “Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types — thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies — is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,” according to Freddie Mac.