Average US long-term mortgage rate edges higher but remains near 2025
low
[January 09, 2026] By
ALEX VEIGA
The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged higher this week to
just above its 2025 low.
The average long-term mortgage rate rose to 6.16%, mortgage buyer
Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s up slightly from 6.15% last week, when
the average rate dropped to its lowest level since October 3, 2024. One
year ago, the rate averaged 6.93%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners
refinancing their home loans, rose this week to 5.46% from 5.44% the
previous week. A year ago it averaged 6.14%, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal
Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’
expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the
trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide
to pricing home loans.
The 10-year yield was at 4.17% at midday Thursday.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been mostly holding steady in
recent weeks since Oct. 30 when it dropped to 6.17%, which at the time
was its lowest level in more than a year. Mortgage rates began easing in
July in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, which began in
September and continued last month.
The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, but when it cuts its short-term rate
that can signal lower inflation or slower economic growth ahead, which
can drive investors to buy U.S. government bonds. That can help lower
yields on long-term U.S. Treasurys, which can result in lower mortgage
rates.
All told, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ended last year nearly
a percentage point lower than at the start of 2025, helping boost home
shoppers’ purchasing power toward the end of the year. Sales of
previously occupied U.S. homes rose on a monthly basis in September,
October and November.
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A for sale sign stands outside a home on the market in the Alamo
Placita neighborhood Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in central Denver. (AP
Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
 Still, even with long-term mortgage rates holding near their 2025 low
point, sales in November slowed compared with a year earlier for the
first time since May and ended the month on pace to finish the year down
from 2024. December existing home sales data are due out next week.
The recent pullback in mortgage rates has been helpful for home shoppers
who can afford to buy at current rates. The median U.S. monthly housing
payment fell to $2,365 in the four weeks ending January 4, according to
Redfin. That's a 4.7% drop from the same period a year earlier.
While lower mortgage rates can help boost how much homebuyers can
afford, the housing market remains out of reach for many aspiring
homeowners, after years of soaring home prices and lackluster wage
growth. First-time buyers have had it particularly tough, because they
don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home
purchase.
Uncertainty over the economy and job market are also keeping many
would-be buyers on the sidelines.
Economists generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year
mortgage will remain slightly above 6% this year.
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