Average Mortgage Rate

Mortgages and their rates are pretty hot topics of conversation these days, with foreclosures increasing every day as people lose their homes to some pretty creative mortgage lending practices of the last few years. How does your mortgage compare?

HSH Associates Financial Publishers has been providing data on consumer loans of all kinds, including mortgages, for the last 28 years. In fact, they�re the largest firm in the nation to publish this type information. Here's what they say about today's national average mortgage rate:

for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 6.64%
for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 6.22%
for a 1-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), it's 6.02%

So. That's the way the average mortgage rate business looks today. Curious to know what it looked like in years past? The good folks at HSH tell us this:

During the last 36 months, the average mortgage rate for FRMs was lowest at about 5.7% in June 2005 and it peaked at just above 7% in July 2007.
During that same period of time, the average mortgage rate for ARMs dropped the lowest, to just under 4.5% in June 2005 and reached the highest peak, at about 6.4%, in September 2007.

They also have this to say about the average mortgage rate in January 2000:

for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 8.32%
for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 7.92%
for a 1-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), it's 6.66%

Want more? In January 1995, the average mortgage rate for these same type loans was:

for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 9.33%
for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 9.00%
for a 1-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), it's 6.87%

Data from January 1990, reveals this average mortgage rate:

for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 9.98%
for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM), it's 9.71%
for a 1-year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), it's 8.39%

This information on average mortgage rate is just the average of all mortgage rates. Extenuating circumstances, such as individual buyer credit history, cost of home, and other unique factors such as these will determine the mortgage rate each buyer will be offered, based upon their own unique qualifications.