The states with the cheapest 30-year new purchase mortgage rates Friday were New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. These eight states registered rate averages between 6.55% and 6.82%.
Meanwhile, the states with Friday’s most expensive 30-year new purchase rates were Alaska, West Virginia, New Mexico, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Vermont. These high-rate states registered averages between 6.94% and 7.16%.
Mortgage rates vary by the state where they originate. Different lenders operate in different regions, and rates can be influenced by state-level variations in credit score, average loan size, and regulations. Lenders also have varying risk management strategies that influence the rates they offer.
Since rates vary widely across lenders, it’s always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter the type of home loan you seek.
Important
The rates we publish are averages and won’t directly compare to the teaser rates often advertised online. Those rates are typically cherry-picked to be the most attractive and may involve paying points upfront or be based on a hypothetical borrower with an ultra-high credit score or a smaller-than-typical loan. The rate you actually secure will depend on factors such as your credit score, income, and more, so it may differ from the averages you see here.
National Mortgage Rates Inch Up
After falling from a four-day climb, 30-year new purchase mortgage rates are back on the upswing, adding 3 basis points Friday to boost the average to 6.86%.
Rates are still significantly improved vs. mid-May, when the flagship average shot up to a one-year high of 7.15%. But things were more affordable for homebuyers in March, after 30-year rates sank to 6.50%, their lowest average of 2025. And in September, 30-year rates plunged to a two-year low of 5.89%.
| National Averages of Lenders’ Best Mortgage Rates | |
|---|---|
| Loan Type | New Purchase |
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.86% |
| FHA 30-Year Fixed | 7.55% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.88% |
| Jumbo 30-Year Fixed | 6.86% |
| 5/6 ARM | 7.48% |
| Provided via the Zillow Mortgage API | |
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What Causes Mortgage Rates to Rise or Fall?
Mortgage rates are influenced by a mix of macroeconomic factors and industry dynamics, including:
- The level and direction of the bond market, particularly 10-year Treasury yields
- The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, especially regarding bond buying and funding government-backed mortgages
- Competition among mortgage lenders and across different loan types
These factors can all fluctuate simultaneously, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of rate changes.
In 2021, macroeconomic conditions kept mortgage rates relatively low, with the Federal Reserve buying billions of dollars in bonds to counteract the pandemic’s economic effects. This bond-buying policy was a key driver of mortgage rates during that time.
However, starting in November 2021, the Fed began reducing its bond purchases, tapering down until reaching zero in March 2022. Then, from 2022 to 2023, the Fed aggressively raised the federal funds rate to combat decades-high inflation.
While the fed funds rate can influence mortgage rates, it doesn’t do so directly. In fact, the fed funds rate and mortgage rates can sometimes move in opposite directions. But given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed’s 2022 and 2023 rate increases—raising the benchmark rate 5.25 percentage points over 16 months—mortgage rates surged during this period, reflecting the ripple effects of the Fed’s dramatic campaign.
The Fed maintained the federal funds rate at its peak level for almost 14 months, beginning in July 2023. But last September, the central bank announced a first rate cut of 0.50 percentage points, and then followed that with quarter-point reductions in November and December.
So far in 2025, the Fed has held rates steady through four meetings, and it’s likely that no further cuts will occur until September at the earliest. The Fed’s quarterly forecast released in mid-June, which indicated the central bankers’ median expectation at that time of where the fed funds rate was headed, showed only two quarter-point rate cuts for the remainder of the year, suggesting the remaining four meetings could involve additional rate holds.
How We Track Mortgage Rates
The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when receiving quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.