Today's Best Mortgage & Refinance Rates for July 15, 2020

The number of people applying for mortgages increased week-over-week, led by a resurgence in refinancing applications that was fueled by record-low interest rates.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the overall number of loan applications increased 5% for the week ending July 10 including an adjustment to account for the July 4 holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the total loan application volume increased 16% over the previous week.

Refinance applications were up 12% week-over-week and 107% from year-ago levels and accounted for 64% of the total activity. Seasonally adjusted purchase applications fell 6% from the prior week but remained 15% higher than a year earlier, marking the eighth consecutive week of year-over-year application growth.

"The drop in rates led to a jump in refinance activity to the highest level in a month, with refinance loan balances also climbing to a high last seen in March," said Joel Kan, chief of economic and industry forecasting for the MBA. Adding, "purchase activity remains relatively strong, despite the continued economic uncertainty and high unemployment caused by the ongoing pandemic."

Average Mortgage Rates Today

For the week ending July 9, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage set a new record low of 3.03% with 0.8 points paid, according to Freddie Mac. That's 0.04 percentage points below the previous low of 3.07%, set a week earlier.

The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.51% with 0.8 points paid, down 0.05 percentage points from the previous week, while the average rate on a 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage increased to 3.02% with 0.3 points paid.

Average Refinance Rates Today

A year ago the average mortgage rate was 3.75%. A homeowner with a $250,000 mortgage balance paying 3.75% on a 30-year loan could cut their monthly payment from $1,158 to $1,058 by financing at today’s lower rates. (It is important to consider closing fees and that refinancing could reset the clock on your mortgage, meaning you will have to make payments longer.)

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Of course, mortgage rates vary widely by location and personal factors like location, the size of your down payment and your credit score. Here are today’s advertised mortgage rates at some of the mortgage industry’s largest lenders. (The rates you see may be different.)