When will mortgage rates go down? They're down for the third week in a row
By Google News Personal Finance ·
Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure.
If you're waiting for mortgage rates to fall, don't miss the move. Mortgage rates have dropped for the third week in a row. Can it be the beginning of a trend of mortgage rates going down?
Yes, this week they did yet again. As of Nov. 5, Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell eight basis points to 7.18%. At this time in November 2025, mortgage rates averaged 6.22%, 96 basis points lower.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate this week was 6.57%, down three basis points from last week, and are 1.07 percentage points higher than this time last year.
Here's the Freddie Mac mortgage rate spread from low to high over the past 52 weeks as of Oct. 22, 2026:
30-year fixed-rate mortgage: 5.98% to 7.4%
15-year fixed-rate mortgage: 5.35% to 6.73%
The 10-year Treasury yield, a benchmark for mortgage rates, has recently fallen from 24-year highs. However, persistent concerns about the Middle East conflict, oil prices, and inflation keep the bond market jittery.
With the mid-term elections over, the housing industry is looking for clues to the future.
"The Democratic sweep shuffles control of the legislative branch, but the economic impact, which is fundamental for the U.S. housing market, is far less clear," Jake Krimmel, senior economist with Realtor.com, said in a statement. "Surging mortgage rates caused the housing market to hit pause this fall, with buyers stepping back first and sellers following.
Jumpstarting the housing market relies on a calmer geopolitical environment and bond market in the short run and more housing supply plus a more dynamic labor market in the long run."
Krimmel noted that the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which became law this summer, was one of the rare bipartisan achievements of the 119th Congress that aimed to boost housing supply.
"It may serve as a model for the types of cross-aisle policies that Democrats can get across the line," he added."
The latest forecasts from the Mortgage Bankers Association and Fannie Mae expect mortgage rates to be over 7% and as high as 7.5% in 2027.
Following the Federal Reserve's first interest rate increase in three years, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) signaled it is leaning toward another 0.25% hike before year-end.
The federal funds rate tends to directly influence rates on shorter-term lending rates. While mortgage rates aren't directly based on the fed funds rate, they typically mirror fed funds rate trends.
So, if the fed funds rate goes up, mortgage rates are likely to follow.
Dig deeper into how the Federal Reserve affects mortgage rates.
While short-term lending rates closely follow the Fed funds rate, mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury yield even more closely. As of Nov. 5, the 10-year Treasury yield opened at 4.90% — compared to 4.11% a year prior.
Now, you're probably wondering why today's mortgage rates aren't in the 5% range, right?
To determine current mortgage rates, lenders add a "spread" to the 10-year Treasury yield. The spread is simply the difference between the rates consumers pay and the 10-year Treasury rate. Without getting too much into the weeds, charging a spread helps mortgage lenders cover the costs of making loans to the public and the risk of providing them.
Mortgage spreads widened over the past few years…
Originally published by Google News Personal Finance
