---
title: 'Today''s Best Mortgage and Refinance Rates: January 5, 2021 | Rates Start the Year Lower'
description: Home prices are growing at the fastest pace since March 2014.
authors:
  - name: Leslie Cook
    role: Editor, Real Estate
    url: https://money.com/author/leslie-cook/
    bio: Leslie Cook is Money’s lead real estate editor covering trends in the housing market, mortgage rates and real estate. She also writes about home renovation trends and tips.
    education: Bryn Mawr College, BA History
    certifications: Certified Personal Finance Counselor
    at_money_since: 2019
    articles: 797
    covers:
      - Mortgages
      - Banking
      - Credit
      - Economy and Politics
      - Housing
      - Identity Theft
      - Insurance
      - Loans
      - Personal Finance
      - Professional Services
      - Retirement
      - Taxes
    social:
      - https://twitter.com/LeslieLCook
      - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-cook-9829b9198/
published: '2021-01-05T14:19:20.000Z'
modified: '2024-01-10T16:13:10.000Z'
section: Mortgages
tags:
  - Apex39
  - Apex41
  - Guides
  - rates
  - today's rates
word_count: 784
canonical: https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We may earn a fee if you click on the links below. Compensation does not determine ranking. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Mortgage-Rate-003](https://img.money.com/2021/01/GettyImages-1184625380_re.jpg)

Home prices continued growth in November with the cost of more affordable homes increasing more than higher-priced homes. Mortgage rates, meanwhile, continued their downward trend in the new year.

## Today's Mortgage Rates

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.973% on Monday — down from 3.026% on Thursday. (Lenders did not release new rates on Friday in observance of New Year's Day.)

Money's mortgage rates include the data from over 8,000 lenders across the United States and are updated daily. These rates include [discount points](https://money.com/mortgage-discount-points-refinance/) and represent what a borrower with a 20% down payment and a 700 credit score — roughly the national average FICO score — would have been offered.

<table style="margin-bottom: -1px;border-left: solid 4px #39B54A"><tbody><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-weight: bold"><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2;font-size: 18px">Mortgage Rates for January 5, 2021</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="border-left: 4px solid #39b54a;border-bottom: 4px solid #39b54a;margin-bottom: -1px;height: 217px;width: 100%"><tbody><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-weight: bold;color: #fff"><td style="background-color: #53aadc;border-right: solid 2px #fff;width: 50%">Loan type</td><td style="background-color: #53aadc;width: 50%">Average Rate</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3;border-right: solid 2px #fff">30-Year Fixed Loan</td><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3">2.973%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #fff;border-right: solid 2px #F3F1E3">15-Year Fixed Loan</td><td style="background-color: #fff">2.242%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3;border-right: solid 2px #fff">30-Year FHA Loan</td><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3">2.991%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #fff;border-right: solid 2px #F3F1E3">30-Year VA Loan</td><td style="background-color: #fff">3.046%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3;border-right: solid 2px #fff">30-Year Jumbo Loan</td><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3">3.573%</td></tr></tbody></table>

##### Source: Money | Date: Jan. 4, 2021 | Rates assume a credit score of 700

Freddie Mac's widely quoted Primary Mortgage Market Survey put rates at 2.67% with 0.7 points paid for the week ending December 31. That's 0.01 percentage points above the prior week's historic low. Rates set new record lows 16 times in 2020. The mortgage purchaser's [weekly](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) survey reflects borrowers who put 20% down on conforming loans and have excellent credit.

## How do I get the best mortgage rates?

Mortgage rates vary from [state-to-state](https://money.com/best-mortgage-rates-by-state-tips/). On Monday, borrowers in Illinois were quoted the lowest mortgage rates — at 2.946%. People looking for mortgages in Arizona saw the highest average rate at 3.164%.

Nationwide, borrowers with the highest credit scores, 740 and above, were quoted rates averaging 2.823%, while those with credit of 620 or below were shown rates of 4.433%.

You may be able to negotiate a [better rate](https://money.com/get-the-lowest-mortgage-rate/) if you shop around or if you have other accounts with the lender. (Money's picks for the best mortgage lenders are [here.](https://money.com/best-mortgage-lenders/)) Currently, some lenders are hiking up advertised rates to keep demand in check, so you may be offered a lower rate if you reach out directly.

## Today's Mortgage Refinance Rates

Money's survey also shows that the offered rate for a 30-year refinance for someone with a 740 credit score was 3.053% on Monday. In January 2020, the average mortgage rate (including fees) was around 3.8%.

<table style="margin-bottom: -1px;border-left: solid 4px #39B54A"><tbody><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-weight: bold"><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2;font-size: 18px">Refinance Rates for January 5, 2021</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table style="border-left: solid 4px #39B54A;border-bottom: solid 4px #39B54A;width: 100%;margin-bottom: -1px"><tbody><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-weight: bold;color: #fff"><td style="background-color: #53aadc;border-right: solid 2px #fff;width: 50%">Loan type</td><td style="background-color: #53aadc;width: 50%">Average Rate</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3;border-right: solid 2px #fff">30-Year Fixed Loan</td><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3">3.053%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #fff;border-right: solid 2px #F3F1E3">15-Year Fixed Loan</td><td style="background-color: #fff">2.535%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3;border-right: solid 2px #fff">30-Year FHA Loan</td><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3">3.377%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #fff;border-right: solid 2px #F3F1E3">30-Year VA Loan</td><td style="background-color: #fff">3.355%</td></tr><tr style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3;border-right: solid 2px #fff">30-Year Jumbo Loan</td><td style="background-color: #f3f1e3">3.49%</td></tr></tbody></table>

##### Source: Money | Date: Jan. 4, 2021 | Rates assume a credit score of 740

## What else is happening in the housing market today?

Home prices were up 8.2% year-over-year in November, according to CoreLogic's Home Price Index. That's the fastest annual price appreciation since March 2014. Prices were also up 1.1% from October.

"The housing market performed remarkably well in 2020 despite the volatile economic state,” said Frank Martell, CEO of CoreLogic. “While we can expect to see lingering effects of COVID-19 resurgences and subsequent shutdowns in the early months of 2021, vaccine distributions and stimulus actions should revitalize economic activity and keep home purchase demand and home price growth strong.”

However, climbing prices are leading to affordability challenges for lower-income and first-time home buyers. As a result, CoreLogic expects buyer demand to start to slow down in 2021, leading to a deceleration in price growth. The data analytics company expects price growth to decline from an average of 7.5% during the first half of 2021 to about 2.5% by November.

The data from the HPI indicates that the more affordably priced homes are experiencing higher price growth than more expensive properties. According to CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft, the strong demand for starter homes is caused by a large number of Millennial and Generation X homebuyers entering the market.

“Lower-priced home values increased about one and a half times faster than higher-priced home values in November, as first-time buyers tend to seek out homes within the lower price ranges,” said Nothaft

## Mortgage Prediction of the Week

*Expert views on what comes next.*

Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda Home, a housing market research firm, on how the economy will influence mortgage rates in 2021:

> Economists and analysts alike expect economic activity to unleash during the second half of 2021 once the vaccine becomes widely distributed."

For more read: [2021 Real Estate Predictions: How Vaccines, President Biden and More Could Shape Housing Trends](https://money.com/2021-real-estate-trends-expert-predictions/)

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Mortgages",
          "item": "https://money.com/mortgages/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Mortgage Rates",
          "item": "https://money.com/mortgage-rates/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "Today's Best Mortgage and Refinance Rates: January 5, 2021 | Rates Start the Year Lower"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/",
      "name": "Today's Best Mortgage and Refinance Rates: January 5, 2021 | Rates Start the Year Lower",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2021-01-05T14:19:20.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2024-01-10T16:13:10.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "Today's Best Mortgage and Refinance Rates: January 5, 2021 | Rates Start the Year Lower",
      "articleSection": "Mortgages",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2021/01/GettyImages-1184625380_re.jpg",
          "width": 2880,
          "height": 1920,
          "caption": "Mortgage-Rate-003"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "Leslie Cook",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/leslie-cook/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/leslie-cook/#author",
          "description": "Leslie Cook is Money’s lead real estate editor covering trends in the housing market, mortgage rates and real estate. She also writes about home renovation trends and tips.",
          "image": "https://img.money.com/2020/04/Money_Headshots_2025-46.jpg?quality=85&w=640&h=640&crop=1",
          "email": "leslie@money.com",
          "jobTitle": "Editor, Real Estate",
          "hasCredential": [
            {
              "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential",
              "credentialCategory": "certification",
              "name": "Certified Personal Finance Counselor"
            }
          ],
          "alumniOf": "Bryn Mawr College, BA History",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://twitter.com/LeslieLCook",
            "https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-cook-9829b9198/"
          ],
          "worksFor": {
            "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
          }
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2021-01-05T14:19:20.000Z",
      "description": "Home prices are growing at the fastest pace since March 2014.",
      "abstract": "Home prices are growing at the fastest pace since March 2014.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-1-5-2021/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2024-01-10T16:13:10.000Z",
      "wordCount": 784,
      "keywords": [
        "Apex39",
        "Apex41",
        "Guides",
        "rates",
        "today's rates"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Mortgage",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```