US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to 7.18% in Third Straight Weekly Decline
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell for a third straight week, Freddie Mac said Thursday, offering some relief to homebuyers even as borrowing costs remain well above last year’s levels.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.18% in the week ending Nov. 5, down from 7.24% the week before, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The decline has been steady rather than sharp. The rate stood at 7.40% on Oct. 15, then 7.32% on Oct. 22 and 7.24% on Oct. 29, a drop of 0.22 percentage points over three weeks. The early-October peak was the highest since November 2023, and the current rate is the lowest since Sept. 24.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.57%, down slightly from 6.59% last week.
“Mortgage rates continued their downward trajectory this week, improving the environment for prospective homebuyers against a backdrop of strong economic growth,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said.
The decline has followed weakness in the stock market. Worries about whether heavy spending on artificial intelligence will pay off, along with uncertainty after the midterm elections, have pushed investors toward safer assets such as Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, pulling mortgage rates down.
Rates are still high compared with a year ago. The 30-year rate averaged 6.22% a year ago, and the 15-year averaged 5.50%. On a $400,000 loan, the higher rate adds about $255 a month in principal and interest.
Whether the decline continues is uncertain. The October jobs report, released Friday morning, showed employers added 165,000 jobs, far above expectations, and strong hiring can put upward pressure on rates. Market watchers also point to a rebound in technology stocks as a factor that could push rates back up.
The figures are national averages from Freddie Mac’s weekly survey, based on thousands of loan applications. They are averages for home purchases, not a rate any individual lender promises every borrower, and they are not the Federal Reserve’s policy rate. The Fed held its benchmark rate in a range of 3.75% to 4.00% on Oct. 28.
The next survey is due Thursday, Nov. 13.