The 30-year fixed rate is down 0.36 points in the past month

Each published rate assumes a borrower profile: a credit score, a down payment, a loan amount, a lock period and a number of discount points. A rate quoted for a 780 credit score with points paid will look much lower than an average of loans people actually closed. Compare rates at the same assumptions, and compare APR, which folds points and fees into one number.

It is the lowest APR among the lenders we track that anyone can apply to. Lenders that require membership or military service are left out. Comparing on APR counts the points a lender charges, so a low rate bought with heavy points does not win by default.

We start from the SuperMoney Rate Index and apply the difference in rates that borrowers with your credit score and down payment have locked over the past month. Credit scores and down payments also change the fees lenders charge, which often show up as points rather than a higher rate, so we estimate those separately from Fannie Mae's loan-level price adjustment matrix for purchase loans. These are estimates for conforming loans, not offers.

Mortgage rates follow longer-term Treasury yields. The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.90% on Nov 4, below the 5.31% it reached on Oct 5, its highest close since May 2002. Lenders price mortgages off that bond market, so when yields move, rates follow within days. Today the extra margin lenders charge over Treasuries is close to its average since 2017.