Mortgage rates decrease for the 3rd week in a row

• Mortgage rates continue to trend downward as the US economy deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The economy is gradually improving, but mortgage rates probably won’t increase until it stabilizes.
• Experts predict mortgage rates will stay low until at least fall 2021.
• See Insider’s picks for the best mortgage lenders »

Mortgage rate forecast: How long will rates stay low?

Low mortgage rates typically reflect a struggling economy. The US has been grappling with the economic impact of COVID-19 for over a year, and rates have been low as a result.

The US economy is making strides in some ways. Thanks to vaccinations and stimulus checks, experts predict Americans will start going out and spending more money. As working from home becomes the new norm and people move to different cities, their spending could bring money to new places.

But Marvin Loh, Senior Global Macro Strategist at State Street, told Insider the US economy still has a long way to go. He expects mortgage rates to remain fairly steady until fall 2021, if not later.

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Mortgage rates heavily rely on the 10-year Treasury yield. Some of the factors that affect the Treasury yield, like inflation and employment, will probably change drastically in the coming months. But some of those differences will be temporary.

Loh said the market will need time to determine which shifts are short-term and which are permanent before the 10-year Treasury yield increases or decreases. Rates probably won’t start to steadily increase until the economy stabilizes.

Along with the Treasury yield, the federal funds rate affects mortgage rates. The higher the federal funds rate, the higher mortgage rates tend to be.

The Federal Reserve has said it doesn’t expect to raise the federal funds rate until at least 2023. Although rates may increase before 2023, this is still an indicator that rates probably won’t skyrocket soon.

This week’s mortgage rates

Mortgage rates continue to trend downward this week. Rates are down since last Monday, and they’re down even more significantly since this time last month.

Learn more and get offers from multiple lenders.»

This week’s refinance rates

Like purchase mortgage rates, refinance rates are steadily decreasing. Fixed mortgage rates are starting much lower than adjustable rates, so you may want to lock in a historically low rate while you can.

Mortgage and refinance rates by state

Check the latest rates in your state at the links below. 

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Laura Grace Tarpley is an editor at Personal Finance Insider, covering mortgages, refinancing, bank accounts, and bank reviews. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF). Over her four years of covering personal finance, she has written extensively about ways to save, invest, and navigate loans.

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.

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