Mortgage Rates Center

Mortgage rates today — honestly sourced, clearly dated.

The current Freddie Mac PMMS averages, what they actually mean, and why the rate on your Loan Estimate will be slightly different. No live-feed theater, no lender funnel, just the number with its source attached.

Updated weekly (Thursdays) Source: Freddie Mac PMMS By the OwningCost editorial team
30-year fixed +0.07 vs prior week
6.37%

Week of May 7, 2026. A year ago: 6.76%. Conventional conforming, 20% down, strong credit.

15-year fixed +0.08 vs prior week
5.72%

Week of May 7, 2026. A year ago: 5.89%. Same loan profile as 30-year survey.

Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), published weekly on Thursdays at noon Eastern. The PMMS averages thousands of mortgage applications submitted to Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor system from lenders across the country. Profile: conventional conforming purchase loans, 20% down, strong credit. View the latest survey at freddiemac.com/pmms. We don't display intra-week rate changes or proprietary "live" feeds — see the FAQ below for why.

What this rate means for your Loan Estimate

The PMMS average is a useful orientation point, not the rate you'll be quoted. Three things shape the gap between the headline number and what shows up on your Loan Estimate:

  • Your credit profile. The PMMS reflects strong credit (typically 740+). Every 20-point drop in FICO score from there costs roughly 0.125 to 0.25 percentage points in rate, more if you drop below 680. Excellent credit can beat the survey average by 0.1 to 0.2 points.
  • Your down payment. The survey assumes 20% down on a conventional conforming loan. Lower down payments add loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) that translate into rate add-ons of 0.1 to 0.5 points. FHA, VA, and USDA loans price differently from conventional and aren't reflected in the headline number.
  • Lender pricing variance. Different lenders price the same loan differently on the same day — credit unions, banks, mortgage brokers, and direct lenders each have different fee structures, target margins, and overhead. Rate shopping across three or four lenders typically reveals a spread of 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points for the same borrower on the same day.

Combined, your actual Loan Estimate is likely to fall within about 0.25 percentage points of the headline number — sometimes better, sometimes worse. The way to know is to collect Loan Estimates from three or four lenders on the same day. The flagship guide on choosing a lender walks through how to actually do that.

The supporting pages in this Rates Center

Explainer

Today's mortgage rates — what the number actually means

The deeper read on what "today's rate" represents, what range to expect on real Loan Estimates, and why your specific rate will differ from any published average.

 Comparison

30-year vs. 15-year mortgage — payment, interest, and the tradeoff

The 15-year rate is lower, but the payment is higher and the lifetime interest is far lower. Side-by-side on a real loan amount, with the case for each.

 Explainer

What actually drives mortgage rates

The 10-year Treasury yield, the MBS spread, prepayment risk, and why "the Fed cut rates" doesn't automatically mean mortgage rates fall. Plain language, no jargon.

 Deep dive

Mortgage rate vs. Treasury spread

The spread is currently ~2.0 pp, above the long-term ~1.7 average. What moves it, what the MOVE Index has to do with it, and why it remains structurally wide.

 Practical

Rate lock and timing — when to lock, what it costs

What 30 vs. 45 vs. 60-day locks actually cost, how float-down provisions work (and why they're often less valuable than they look), and how to handle rate moves during the lock period.

 Decision walkthrough

Should I refinance now?

Refinance, recast, extra payments, or do nothing — the four-option walkthrough with break-even math worked through on a real loan example.

Run your real numbers

A rate is half of the question — the other half is what monthly cost that rate produces on the home you're actually considering. Plug your numbers into the calculators below and see the deterministic math.

Signature

True Monthly Cost

The complete monthly figure for a specific home — P&I, taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance reserve, and PMI with proper removal logic.

 Signature

Affordability + Risk

Three honest price tiers based on your income, debts, and reserves at today's rates — plus a risk score.

 Calculator

Refinance vs. Keep

If rates fall from where you locked, break-even on a refinance depends on closing costs, your remaining term, and how long you'll stay.

 Calculator

ARM vs. Fixed

The honest tradeoff between a lower introductory ARM rate and the certainty of a fixed payment.

Common questions

What is the current 30-year mortgage rate?
The Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.37% for the week of May 7, 2026. This is a weekly average across thousands of loan applications, not a live quote. Your actual Loan Estimate will likely come in within about 0.25 percentage points of this number, higher or lower depending on credit, down payment, loan size, and which lender you choose.
What is the current 15-year mortgage rate?
The Freddie Mac PMMS 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.72% for the week of May 7, 2026. The 15-year rate runs roughly 0.5 to 0.7 percentage points below the 30-year rate. The monthly payment is substantially higher because principal pays off twice as fast, but the total interest cost is far lower over the life of the loan.
Where does OwningCost get its mortgage rate data?
From the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), released every Thursday at noon Eastern. The PMMS is the industry-standard weekly benchmark, sourced from thousands of mortgage applications, free and public. We use it because it's accurate, transparent, and clearly dated. We don't display "live" or daily-changing rate numbers — those typically come from proprietary feeds or scraping, and we'd rather show one honest number than a flashier one with unclear provenance.
How often does this page update?
The Freddie Mac PMMS publishes new weekly numbers every Thursday at noon Eastern. This page is updated to reflect the most recent published survey. If you're reading this more than a few days after the date shown on the rate cards, expect the actual market to have moved — check the Freddie Mac source link for the current week's number.
Why does my Loan Estimate show a different rate than this page?
Three reasons. First, the PMMS is a weekly average of applications submitted to a specific lender pool; daily market rates move faster. Second, your specific rate depends on credit score, down payment percentage, loan size, property type, and the specific lender's pricing — not the national average. Third, the PMMS surveys borrowers with strong credit putting 20 percent down on conventional conforming loans; if your profile differs, your rate will too. For a deeper read on this, see the today's mortgage rates explainer.
Will mortgage rates fall in 2026?
Nobody knows, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Mortgage rates follow the 10-year Treasury yield plus a spread that fluctuates based on mortgage-backed-security demand and prepayment-risk expectations. Forecasters at Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and Freddie Mac publish projections, but the historical accuracy of mortgage rate forecasts is poor. The honest answer: plan for the rate you're being offered today, not for the rate you hope will exist in six months. See what actually drives mortgage rates for how the underlying mechanics work.
From rate to real number

A rate is half the question. The other half is what it costs on your specific home.

OwningCost's twenty-eight calculators turn rate inputs into deterministic monthly-cost math — every formula documented, every assumption editable, every result reproducible. Nothing leaves your browser.

True Monthly Cost All 28 calculators