--- title: Here Are Today's Best Mortgage & Refinance Rates for July 21, 2020 description: The total number of mortgages in forbearance dropped, but concerns remain. 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: '2020-07-21T14:25:05.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T15:51:01.000Z' section: Mortgages tags: - Apex39 - Apex41 - Guides - today's rates word_count: 585 canonical: https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-7-21-2020/ 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-July-21-2020](https://img.money.com/2020/07/mortgage-rate-july-21.jpg) The number of mortgages in forbearance dropped for the fifth straight week. Concerns remain about how a resurgence of COVID-19 and the [end of enhanced unemployment benefits](https://money.com/coronavirus-extra-unemployment-payments-ending/) could affect homeowners in the near future. According to the [Mortgage Bankers Association](https://www.mba.org/2020-press-releases/july/share-of-mortgage-loans-in-forbearance-decreases-for-fifth-straight-week-to-780), the share of paused loans decreased to 7.80% for the week ending July 12 from 8.18% a week earlier. "The share of loans in forbearance dropped to its lowest level in over two months, driven by an increase in the pace of exits as more homeowners have been able to get back to work," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist. "The pace of new forbearance requests remains quite low compared to earlier in the crisis, but we are watching carefully for any increases due to either the pick-up in COVID-19 cases or the cessation of enhanced unemployment insurance benefits at the end of this month." The MBA estimates that about 3.9 million homeowners are in [forbearance plans](https://money.com/mortgage-forbearance-cares-act/). Of those homeowners still in forbearance, about half are in extensions of their original terms while the other half is in the initial phase of the plan. ## Average Mortgage Rates Today Mortgage rates broke the [3% barrier](https://money.com/mortgage-rates-3-percent/) on Thursday, the lowest rate recorded in 50 years of Freddie Mac's interest rate survey. For the week ending July 16, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage set a new record low of 2.98% with 0.7 points paid, according to [Freddie Mac](http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/ "(opens new window)"). That's 0.05 percentage points below the previous low of 3.07%, set a week earlier. The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.48% with 0.7 points paid, down 0.03 percentage points from the previous week, while the average rate on a 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage increased to 3.06% with 0.3 points paid. ## Average Refinance Rates Today A year ago the average mortgage rate was 3.81%. A homeowner with a $250,000 mortgage balance paying 3.81% on a 30-year loan could cut their monthly payment from $1,166 to $1,051 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.) ## Quicken Quicken, a non-bank lender based in Detroit, is the nation’s [largest lenders](https://money.com/best-mortgage-lenders/) by dollar origination volume. Mortgage rates [advertised for July 21](https://www.quickenloans.com/mortgage-rates?qlsource=nav "(opens new window)"): 30-year fixed: 3.236% 15-year-fixed: 2.942% *(Quicken doesn’t advertise a five-year adjustable rate. Rates are APRs.)* ## Wells Fargo Based in San Francisco, Wells Fargo has more than 7,000 locations. Mortgage rates [advertised for July 21](https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/rates/ "(opens new window)"): 30-year fixed: 3.122% 15-year-fixed: 2.829% 5-year ARM: 2.851% *(Rates are APRs.)* ## JP Morgan Chase Based in New York, JP Morgan Chase has nearly 5,000 U.S. branches. Mortgage rates [advertised for July 21:](https://www.chase.com/personal/mortgage/mortgage-rates "(opens new window)") 30-year fixed: 2.967% 15-year-fixed: 2.607% 5-year ARM: 2.695% *(Rates based on New York City zip code 10006. Rates are APRs.)* ## Bottom Line: [**If you have decent credit, you may be in a position to take advantage of mortgage rates near all time lows**](https://money.com/mortgage-rates-below-three-percent/) [**View Money’s Best Mortgage Lenders of 2020**](https://money.com/best-mortgage-lenders/) [**Compare Money's Best Mortgage Refinance Companies of 2020**](https://money.com/best-mortgage-refinance/) **Related: [Why Right Now Is the Best Time to Refinance Your Mortgage, According to David Bach](https://money.com/mortgage-refinance-tips-david-bach/)** **[Mortgage Rates Are at Record Lows. But What Does It Take to Actually Qualify for a 3% Loan?](https://money.com/credit-availability/)** ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-7-21-2020/#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": "Here Are Today's Best Mortgage & Refinance Rates for July 21, 2020" } ] }, { "@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-7-21-2020/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-7-21-2020/", "name": "Here Are Today's Best Mortgage & Refinance Rates for July 21, 2020", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2020-07-21T14:25:05.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-7-21-2020/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/todays-mortgage-rates-7-21-2020/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T15:51:01.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Here Are Today's Best Mortgage & Refinance Rates for July 21, 2020", "articleSection": "Mortgages", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2020/07/mortgage-rate-july-21.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "Mortgage-Rate-July-21-2020" } ], "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. 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