As of August 24, 2026, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed loan was 6.71% — up from the beginning of the year, and higher than the 2025 average of 6.66%.
Over the past four decades, the 30-year fixed rate ranged from a 2021 low of 2.65% to a 1981 high above 18%.
The average 30-year fixed rate bottomed in 2021 at just under 3%.
87% of all borrowers in 2025 paid more than the most competitive rate available to them, according to Bankrate's Hidden Homeownership Tax research — meaning rate history matters less to your bill than whether you actually shopped your own rate.
The residential mortgage as we know it today is less than a century old. In fact, until the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established in 1934, only one in 10 Americans even owned a home. That all changed with the introduction of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the Great Depression, which made homeownership possible for millions.
#homeownership #mortgage
Over the past four decades, the 30-year fixed rate ranged from a 2021 low of 2.65% to a 1981 high above 18%.
The average 30-year fixed rate bottomed in 2021 at just under 3%.
87% of all borrowers in 2025 paid more than the most competitive rate available to them, according to Bankrate's Hidden Homeownership Tax research — meaning rate history matters less to your bill than whether you actually shopped your own rate.
The residential mortgage as we know it today is less than a century old. In fact, until the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established in 1934, only one in 10 Americans even owned a home. That all changed with the introduction of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the Great Depression, which made homeownership possible for millions.
#homeownership #mortgage
2 months ago
