Average US long-term mortgage rate edges higher but remains near 2025 low

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Average US long-term mortgage rate edges higher but remains near 2025 low

2026-01-09 01:49 Last Updated At：01:51

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged higher this week to just above its 2025 low.

The average long-term mortgage rate rose to 6.16%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s up slightly from 6.15% last week, when the average rate dropped to its lowest level since October 3, 2024. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.93%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week to 5.46% from 5.44% the previous week. A year ago it averaged 6.14%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year yield was at 4.17% at midday Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been mostly holding steady in recent weeks since Oct. 30 when it dropped to 6.17%, which at the time was its lowest level in more than a year. Mortgage rates began easing in July in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, which began in September and continued last month.

The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, but when it cuts its short-term rate that can signal lower inflation or slower economic growth ahead, which can drive investors to buy U.S. government bonds. That can help lower yields on long-term U.S. Treasurys, which can result in lower mortgage rates.

All told, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ended last year nearly a percentage point lower than at the start of 2025, helping boost home shoppers’ purchasing power toward the end of the year. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose on a monthly basis in September, October and November.

Still, even with long-term mortgage rates holding near their 2025 low point, sales in November slowed compared with a year earlier for the first time since May and ended the month on pace to finish the year down from 2024. December existing home sales data are due out next week.

The recent pullback in mortgage rates has been helpful for home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates. The median U.S. monthly housing payment fell to $2,365 in the four weeks ending January 4, according to Redfin. That's a 4.7% drop from the same period a year earlier.

While lower mortgage rates can help boost how much homebuyers can afford, the housing market remains out of reach for many aspiring homeowners, after years of soaring home prices and lackluster wage growth. First-time buyers have had it particularly tough, because they don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase.

Uncertainty over the economy and job market are also keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines.

Economists generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will remain slightly above 6% this year.

Miami heading home for shot at national title after beating Ole Miss 31-27 in Fiesta Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Miami’s return to relevance was a long, winding road filled with more downs than ups.

Even when the Hurricanes rejoined the national conversation, they were doubted, told they didn’t belong.

Through it all, they kept chugging along — straight into the national championship game.

Carson Beck scrambled for a 3-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national title since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

“We never flinched,” said Beck, who threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. “In the face of adversity, when we had to respond, we responded.”

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) didn’t play in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and were a somewhat controversial CFP pick – at least outside of South Florida – yet proved they belong.

Miami held Texas A&M and reigning national champion Ohio State to a combined 17 points to reach the CFP semifinals. Then the Hurricanes shut down the high-scoring Rebels (13-2) for three quarters in the desert before pulling it out in a wild fourth.

Malachi Toney, hero of Miami's opening CFP win over Texas A&M, turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put the Hurricanes up 24-19.

Trinidad Chambliss, a year removed from winning a Division II title at Ferris State, led the Rebels down the field and found Dae'Quan Wright for a 24-yard touchdown with 3:13 left.

Then it was Beck's turn.

He won a national title as a backup at Georgia before two productive seasons as the Bulldogs' starter. Beck kept the Hurricanes calm amid the storm, leading them down the field for the winning score — and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium.

Now 37-5 as a starter, Beck gets one more chance at glory against against top-ranked Indiana or No. 5 Oregon on Jan. 19 in the CFP championship game.

“He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being, and all he wants to do is to see his teammates have success,” said Mario Cristobal, in his fourth season coaching his alma mater. “And that’s what we witnessed tonight.”

The sixth-seeded Rebels lost their coach before the playoff, but not their cool.

If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Ole Miss’ resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.

“I will just remember how they embraced each other,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said. “There was a lot going on the last month. They're going to be talking about this for a long time.”

They sure will.

Ole Miss took the lead on Lucas Caneiro's fourth field goal, from 21 yards, and seemed poised to continue its improbable run with Chambliss' TD pass to Wright.

Even after Beck's touchdown, the Rebels still had a chance.

Chambliss completed two passes to get Ole Miss to the Miami 35 with 6 seconds left, offering a glimmer of hope.

The best season in Rebels history ended when Chambliss' heave to the end zone fell incomplete as time expired, but what a run it was.

“This team has just sacrificed a lot to get to this point,” said Chambliss, who threw for 277 yards and a touchdown. “This season’s been bumpy and there’s been a lot of things going on, and we just kept our focus. It’s been truly special.”

With Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator — and most of the assistants sticking around — the Rebels blew out Tulane to open the playoff and took down mighty Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals.

They faced a different kind of storm in the Hurricanes.

Miami has rekindled memories of its 2001 national championship team behind a defense that went from porous to nearly impenetrable in its first season under coordinator Corey Hetherman.

The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.

One play revved up the Rebels and their rowdy fans.

Kewan Lacy, the nation’s third-leading rusher, burst through a hole up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter — the longest run allowed by Miami’s defense since 2018.

The Hurricanes seemed content to grind away at the Rebels in small chunks offensively, setting up CharMar Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run and a field goal.

Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.

Caneiro made a 58-yard field goal just before halftime, had a 51-yarder bounce off the left upright and caromed in a 54-yarder off the same upright later in the third quarter.

The kicker's ups and downs mirrored the Rebels' night in the desert, one that ended with the Hurricanes heading home to play for a championship.

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