Mortgage Rates Today, Mar. 7, 2025: Jobs Report Likely Good for Mortgage Rates
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 6.6% today, a decrease of 0.08% since yesterday. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate stands at 5.66%, the same as one day ago. The 30-year FHA mortgage now averages 5.92%, having dropped by 0.02. Meanwhile, the 30-year jumbo mortgage rate is 7.02%, reflecting a decrease of 0.06%.
The bigger picture
This morning's jobs report for February will likely prove good for mortgage rates, perhaps pushing them lower. See below for details.
Having said that, investors' reactions to new data are never wholly predictable. And that's especially true at the moment when so many other pressures are being applied to markets.
Mortgage rates on the move
“As the spring homebuying season gets underway, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw the largest weekly decline since mid-September,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist in a statement yesterday. “The decline in rates increases prospective homebuyers’ purchasing power and should provide a strong incentive to make a move. Additionally, this decline in rates is already providing some existing homeowners the opportunity to refinance. In fact, the refinance share of market mortgage applications released this week reached nearly 44%, the highest since mid-December.”
Freddie's data are often out of date by the time they're published, and that is the case this week. While mortgage rates did fall earlier in the Thursday-to-Thursday reporting period, Wednesday and Thursday's rises have wiped out those gains, according to Mortgage News Daily's archive.
These rises and falls have a lot to do with the headwinds the economy is facing, and especially shifting news on tariffs. That could make this morning's jobs report — often the most important economic report in any month — even more consequential for mortgage rates than normal.
Mortgage Rate Trends: Past 90 Days
Purchase Rates
| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Daily Change | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.6% | 6.63% | -0.08% | -0.26% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.66% | 5.72% | +-0% | -0.2% |
| 30-Year Fixed FHA | 5.92% | 6.75% | -0.02% | -0.2% |
| 30-Year Fixed VA | 6.02% | 6.17% | +-0% | -0.2% |
| 30-Year Fixed USDA | 6.08% | 6.22% | +0.06% | -0.13% |
| 30-Year Fixed Jumbo | 7.02% | 7.04% | -0.06% | -0.12% |
| 5/6 Year ARM | 6.77% | 6.82% | +0.03% | -0.17% |
Refinance Rates
| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Daily Change | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.72% | 6.75% | -0.07% | -0.22% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.65% | 5.7% | +0% | -0.2% |
| 30-Year Fixed FHA | 5.91% | 6.74% | -0.02% | -0.19% |
| 30-Year Fixed VA | 6.06% | 6.21% | +0% | -0.17% |
| 5/6 Year ARM | 6.84% | 6.88% | -0.1% | +0.08% |
Coming up
Although economic reports are 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 — as we've seen recently with the quickly moving announcements about tariffs.
Mortgage rates today
The February jobs report is the only major economic report on today's calendar, according to MarketWatch. Here are this morning's actual figures (in bold) alongside market expectations and January's actual numbers:
- Nonfarm payrolls (new jobs created during the reporting month) — 151,000. Markets expected 170,000, up from January's 143,000, which was depressed by bad weather.
- Unemployment rate — 4.1%. Markets expected 4.0%, unchanged since January.
- Average hourly earnings — 0.3%. Markets expected a 0.3% increase, sharply lower than January's 0.5%.
You can see that nonfarm payrolls came in much lower than expected, while the unemployment rate inched up. Both those would normally be helpful to mortgage rates. Earnings came in as expected so shouldn't affect markets.
We're due consumer credit data for January this afternoon. But those rarely affect mortgage rates.
With economic data, weaker-than-expected figures tend to drag mortgage rates lower, while stronger-than-expected ones often push them higher.
Next week
Next week's big report is the consumer price index (CPI) for February, due Wednesday. This inflation measure is often the second most important monthly report, after the jobs report.
