The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.35% yesterday, unchanged since the day before. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 5.53%, the same as one the day before. The 30-year FHA mortgage averaged 5.7% yesterday, having stayed the same. Meanwhile, the 30-year jumbo mortgage rate was 6.64%, reflecting no change.
The bigger picture
We reported last Friday that Freddie Mac reckoned its weekly average of mortgage rates showed a decline. But daily rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans show a different picture.
They closed at 6.35% last Friday compared with 6.23% last Monday evening, according to ICanBuy. Mortgage News Daily showed a flatter increase: 6.32% on Friday evening, as opposed to 6.30% that Monday. Other sources of rate data suggest limited movements.
We suspect that this restricted movement in mortgage rates reflects investors' issues in digesting news about events in the Middle East. The speed with which those events change and the lack of sustained clarity about what's actually happening create rapid swings between optimism and pessimism.And there are signs these are fatiguing markets, making hanging fire more attractive than constantly responding to fleeting changes in the situation. With no economic reports scheduled for release today, mortgage rates might barely budge again — absent a sudden re-escalation or de-escalation in the Middle East conflict.
Scroll on down for details of today's economic report and how it might affect mortgage rates.
Mortgage Rate Trends: Past 90 Days
Purchase Rates
| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Daily Change | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.35% | 6.38% | +0% | -0.27% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.53% | 5.58% | +0% | -0.21% |
| 30-Year Fixed FHA | 5.7% | 6.91% | +0% | -0.25% |
| 30-Year Fixed VA | 5.83% | 5.97% | +0% | -0.28% |
| 30-Year Fixed USDA | 5.7% | 5.85% | +0% | -0.33% |
| 30-Year Fixed Jumbo | 6.64% | 6.66% | +0% | -0.25% |
| 5/6 Year ARM | 5.89% | 5.93% | +0% | -0.21% |
Refinance Rates
| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Daily Change | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.43% | 6.45% | +0% | -0.27% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.49% | 5.53% | +0% | -0.21% |
| 30-Year Fixed FHA | 5.69% | 6.9% | +0% | -0.22% |
| 30-Year Fixed VA | 5.82% | 5.96% | +0% | -0.3% |
| 5/6 Year ARM | 6.06% | 6.09% | +0% | -0.13% |
What's coming up?
Although economic reports are usually the main drivers of changes to mortgage rates, they're not the only ones. The general mood in markets and economically consequential news can also affect those rates. News items concerning the war, employment, inflation, tariffs, and deficit funding are especially influential at the moment.
Mortgage rates today
There are no economic reports on today's MarketWatch economic calendar.
However, this week brings several potentially important reports and events:
- Tomorrow — April consumer confidence
- Wednesday — Federal Reserve rate decision. However, the chances of rates staying put is 99%, according to the CME FedWatch tool, so mortgage rate-moving surprises are highly unlikely
- Thursday — The Fed's favorite gauge of inflation (March) plus the first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) during the first quarter
- Friday — Two April purchasing managers' indices for the manufacturing sector in March
