A mortgage rate shows you the amount of money you’ll have to pay as a fee for borrowing funds to purchase a home, and is typically expressed as a percentage of the total amount you’ve borrowed.
Current 30 year-fixed mortgage rates are averaging 5.54%
The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage is 3.89%
The current mortgage rates forecast indicates that rates are likely to remain high compared to recent years but could begin to trend downward as we enter 2024. 30-year fixed mortgage rates fell for the seventh week in a row, finally dipping below 7%. This is a promising sign for rates in the upcoming home buying season, despite 15-year rates increasing from last week. Here are the U.S. weekly average rates from Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, as of December 14, 2023:
Mortgage rates remained largely in the 6% range this year until late August, when they crossed the 7% threshold for the first time since November of last year. As we continue to face inflation, rate hikes from the Federal Reserve remain a looming possibility. However, it’s important to note that even if the Fed increases the federal funds rate, it’s not a given that mortgage rates will follow. In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell predicted in late June that housing inflation could come down over the next 12 to 24 months.
As a result, it seems reasonable to expect that homeowners stuck with 7% rates or higher will have a decent chance of refinancing to a lower rate in 2024.
→ The Fed’s monetary policy directly affects adjustable-rate mortgages, since their interest rates are calculated using a number — known as an index — that fluctuates with the broader economy.
→ The Fed’s policy only indirectly impacts fixed-rate mortgages, which can move more independently and, in some cases, move in the opposite direction of the federal funds rate.
There are nine primary factors that determine your mortgage rate:
There are seven options you can use to get the lowest mortgage interest rates:
Interested in an ARM loan? See current ARM rates.If you skip the crucial step of shopping around, you miss out on the opportunity to:
If you’re struggling with where to start the process, check out our list of the best mortgage lenders below.
| Lender | LendingTree rating and “best of” category | Lender review |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Read our review |
 | | Read our review |
 | | Read our review |
 |  | Read our review |
 | | Read our review |
 | | Read our review |
 |  Best overall mortgage loan variety | Read our review |
Learn more about how we chose our best mortgage lenders.They key to choosing a mortgage lender is to comparison shop. That means getting quotes from at least three to five lenders. It may sound like a hassle but it could save you tens of thousands of dollars, according to a recent LendingTree study.
Just be sure to shop for those quotes on the same day, since mortgage rates change on a daily basis. And don’t forget to look at the APR — this will show you the true cost of a given loan, including interest and fees.