Mortgage rates drop again to a new three-year low

Mortgage rates fell again this week, with the 30-year fixed rate averaging 6.09%, down from 6.16% last week, according to Bankrate’s latest lender survey.

The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.36 discount and origination points. Discount points are a way to lower your mortgage rate, while origination points are fees lenders charge to create, review and process your loan.

Learn more: Will mortgage rates go down this upcoming week?

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The national median family income for 2025 was $104,200, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in January 2026 was $396,800, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20% down payment and a 6.09% mortgage rate, the monthly principal and interest payment of $1,922 amounts to about 22% of the typical family’s monthly income.

Meanwhile, home prices have begun to dip in many formerly hot markets. Half of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas exprienced price declines over the past year, Zillow reported in early February. “With more housing inventory coming online and home prices starting to level off, this remains a promising environment for those looking to buy or refinance,” says Samir Dedhia, CEO of One Real Mortgage.

The Federal Reserve announced last month that it would hold its benchmark interest rate steady, as expected by industry experts. “Until there is further economic data to support another rate cut, they will keep the fed funds rate as is,” says Melissa Cohn of William Raveis Mortgage. Meanwhile, stronger-than-expected labor numbers released Feb. 11 have led to predictions that the Fed might not cut rates any time soon.

“We could see at least one rate cut during the first half of 2026 — but if job growth rebounds, it is harder to see a path toward multiple rate cuts this year,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, a large listing service in the mid-Atlantic region.

The central bank doesn’t directly set mortgage rates, which are at levels not seen since 2022. “Even without a cut, mortgage rates are nearly a full percentage point lower than they were a year ago, when rates hovered around 6.9%,” says Bill Banfield of Rocket Mortgage.

One reason rates have dipped: President Donald Trump’s announcement that he directed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage rates, already at a 15-month low of 6.24% before Trump’s Truth Social post in early January, fell to 6.18% in Bankrate survey three weeks ago. However, that action hasn’t led to a sustained decline in mortgage rates.

Sean Salter, a finance professor at Middle Tennessee State University, said Trump’s policy move would create “a temporary and limited reduction in mortgage rates”: “Unless there is coordination with and support from monetary-policy actions via the Federal Reserve, and/or fiscal-policy actions from Congress, the effects of Trump’s announcement will likely not be highly impactful or long-lasting.”

Fannie and Freddie are the government-sponsored enterprises that back about two-thirds of U.S. home loans. Those mortgages are packaged as securities and sold to the Federal Reserve, pension funds and other institutional investors. So, while your home loan might be originated by a lender such as Rocket, loanDepot or Wells Fargo, or by an independent mortgage broker, it soon is turned into a mortgage bond owned by an investor. If the government steps in and buys additional bonds based on mortgages, the increased demand for home loans could lead to lower rates.

The consensus now is that mortgage rates will drift slightly lower. Fannie Mae’s January 2026 Housing Forecast predicts that rates will sit at 6% for most of 2026 and 2027.

Learn more: How are mortgage rates set?

• Methodology

  The Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the Bankrate.com national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We’ve conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it’s consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80%. “Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types — thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies — is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,” according to Freddie Mac.