A mortgage is the largest price most people ever negotiate, and it’s quoted in a unit (a percentage) that hides how much money is actually at stake. A fifth of a percentage point sounds like nothing and is worth thousands over a loan’s life.
This guide is the map for the rest of the mortgage articles here. Every rate on these pages is stamped with the week it was measured, because a mortgage article without a date is decoration.
Where rates are right now
For the week ending 13 August 2026, Freddie Mac’s survey put the US 30-year fixed at 6.67% and the 15-year fixed at 5.96%.
The direction matters as much as the level. Through the summer of 2026 the 30-year average climbed from 6.43% in early July to a peak of 6.69% in early August before easing slightly. It did that while the Federal Reserve left its policy rate unchanged at 3.50–3.75%.
That gap between what the Fed did and what mortgages did is the single most useful thing to understand in this category, and it’s covered in what actually drives 30-year rates.
Start here, by situation
You’re comparing loan terms. 15-year vs 30-year works through the trade between a lower rate and a higher payment with real numbers.
You’re considering refinancing. When refinancing actually makes sense covers the break-even calculation, and the refinance estimator covers how to use a calculator without being misled by the number it produces.
You’re outside the US. The product itself differs by country — fixed terms in the UK are typically two to five years rather than thirty, and Canadian and Australian structures differ again. Start with remortgaging in the UK, refinancing in Canada or refinancing in Australia.
Two ideas that save people the most money
The rate is not the price. The price is the rate plus the fees plus how long you keep the loan. A lower rate bought with high closing costs is a worse deal if you sell in three years, and a better one if you stay for fifteen.
Your credit score is part of the rate. Lenders price risk, and the difference between score bands is real money on a loan this size. If an application is months away rather than weeks, getting your score ready first is usually higher-value than shopping harder for a rate.
Why these pages carry dates
Mortgage rates move weekly, and the readership here spans four countries whose central banks are currently doing three different things. An article that says “rates are low right now” is worthless six weeks later and was never true everywhere at once.
So every figure here names its survey, its week, and its country, and the sources are listed so you can check the current number yourself before you sign anything.
