2025 ended with the lowest mortgage rates of the year
Long-term mortgage rates are currently at their lowest level since September 2024. With incremental declines and three rate cuts from the Fed throughout the year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average reported as 6.19% in December. Analysis from Freddie Mac shows that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5 basis points (bps) lower than November. This makes the 30-year rate lower by about half a percentage point compared to a year ago. Looking at the 15-year rate of 5.48% saw a 3 bps decrease. This is 45 bps lower than it was a year ago.
“An NAHB analysis shows that a 25 bps reduction in the 30-year mortgage rate, from 6.25% to 6.00%, could bring approximately 1.1 million additional households back into the buyer pool,” wrote NAHB Forecasting and Analysis economist Catherine Koh. “NAHB expects the 30-year mortgage rate to average 6.17% in 2026 and would reach 6% by 2027.”
