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Refinancing rates are rising again, hitting a summer high
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Refinancing rates are rising again, hitting a summer high

Refinance rates on 30-year mortgages rose another basis point on Monday, pushing the average up to 7.09 percent. This is now the most expensive level since August 9 and is more than a percentage point above the 19-month low seen on September 16 — when the average fell to 6.01%.

Rate movement was mixed for other types of refinance loans on Monday. The 15-year and 20-year refi averages rose 2 and 3 basis points, respectively, while the 30-year jumbo refinance rates added a bolder 9 basis points.

National Averages of Best Lenders’ Rates – Refinance
The type of loan Refinancing rates Daily change
30 years straight 7.09% +0.01
FHA 30 years fixed 6.29% No change
VA 30 years fixed 6.16% -0.02
20 years straight 7.01% +0.03
15 years fixed 5.95% +0.02
FHA 15 years fixed 6.09% No change
Fixed for 10 years 6.36% +0.16
7/6 ARM 7.60% +0.06
5/6 ARM 7.60% -0.07
Jumbo 30 years fixed 7.03% +0.09
Jumbo 15 years fixed 7.05% +0.11
Jumbo 7/6 ARM 7.28% No change
Jumbo 5/6 ARMS 7.56% +0.03
Provided via the Zillow Mortgage API
Occasionally, some rate averages show a much larger than usual change from day to day. This may be because some loan types are less popular with mortgage buyers, such as 10-year fixed rate, resulting in the average being based on a small sample of quotes.

Important

The rates we publish will not directly compare to the teaser rates you see advertised online, as these rates are chosen to be the most attractive compared to the averages you see here. Teaser rates may involve paying points upfront, or they may be based on a hypothetical borrower with an ultra-high credit score or for a smaller-than-usual loan. The rate you ultimately secure will be based on factors like your credit score, income and more, so it may vary from the averages you see here.

Because rates vary widely from lender to lender, it’s always wise to shop around the best mortgage refinancing option and compare rates regularly, regardless of the type of home loan you’re looking for.

Calculate monthly payments for different loan scenarios with our help Mortgage calculator.

What causes mortgage rates to rise or fall?

Mortgage rates are determined by a complex interplay of macroeconomic and industry factors such as:

Since any number of these can cause fluctuations at the same time, it is generally difficult to attribute a single change to a single factor.

Macroeconomic factors kept the mortgage market relatively subdued for much of 2021. In particular, the Federal Reserve had been buying billions of dollars in bonds in response to the economic pressures of the pandemic. This bond purchase policy is a major influencer of mortgage rates.

But starting in November 2021, the Fed began tapering its bond purchases downward, making sizeable cuts each month until net zero in March 2022.

Between then and July 2023, the Fed hiked aggressively federal funds rate to fight inflation for decades. Although the federal funds rate can influence mortgage rates, it does not do so directly. In fact, the federal funds rate and mortgage rates can move in opposite directions.

But given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 – raising the benchmark rate by 5.25 percentage points over 16 months – even the indirect influence of the fed funds rate has resulted in a dramatic upward impact on mortgage rates in the last two. years.

The Fed kept the federal funds rate at its highest level for nearly 14 months, starting in July 2023. But on September 18, the central bank announced the first rate cut in what is expected to be a series of cuts in 2024 and likely 2025. The first cut was 0.50 percentage points.

The Fed’s next rate announcement will be made on November 7.

How we track mortgage rates

The national and state averages mentioned above are provided as-is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value ratio (LTV). of 80% (ie, a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the range of 680–739. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when they receive quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2024. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.