AOL Blog Mortgage and refinance rates for Oct. 24, 2024: Average rates for 30-year, 15-year terms surge higher

Average mortgage rates for popular terms surge higher week over week, pushing the average 30-year benchmark over 6.70% as of Thursday, October 24, 2024, and setting borrowing costs back to their highest levels since August. While there isn't any one reason for rising rates in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve's half-point rate cut on Sept. 18 — considering September's positive jobs report and inflation readings — election-related jitters and a looming Fed cut in November are likely contributing to the volatility. The outlook is that rates will ease over time as inflation nears the Fed's 2% target. The current average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.71% for purchase and 6.71% for refinance — a jump of 17 basis points from 6.54% for purchase and 15 basis points from 6.56% for refinance last Thursday. Rates on a 15-year mortgage stand at an average 6.01% for purchase and 6.02% for refinance — up 19 basis points from 5.82% for purchase and 13 basis points from 5.89% for refinance this time last week. The average rate on a 30-year fixed jumbo mortgage is 6.72%. ⭐️ Must read: 6 ways to get the lowest rate on your next mortgage Purchase rates for Thursday, October 24, 2024 30-year fixed rate 6.71% 20-year fixed rate 6.53% 15-year fixed rate 6.01% 10-year fixed rate 5.98% 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 6.05% 30-year fixed FHA rate 6.84% 30-year fixed VA rate 6.88% 30-year fixed jumbo rate 6.72% Refinance rates for Thursday, October 24, 2024 30-year fixed rate 6.71% 20-year fixed rate 6.56% 15-year fixed rate 6.02% 10-year fixed rate 5.98% 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 6.03% 30-year fixed FHA rate 6.90% 30-year fixed VA rate 7.43% 30-year fixed jumbo rate 6.71% Source: Bankrate lender survey Mortgage rates are determined by many factors that include inflation rates, economic conditions, housing market trends and the Federal Reserve's target interest rate. Lenders also consider your personal credit score, the amount available for your down payment, the property you're interested in and other terms of the loan you're requesting, like 30-year or 15-year offers. Because mortgage rates can fluctuate daily, it's best to lock in a rate when you're comfortable with the overall conditions of your mortgage or home loan. Dig deeper What are the monthly payments on a $300,000 mortgage? What are the monthly payments on a $400,000 mortgage? What are the monthly payments on a $500,000 mortgage? Freddie Mac weekly mortgage report: Mortgage rates continue to increase Freddie Mac reports an average 6.44% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, up 12 basis points from last week's average 6.32%, according to its weekly Prime Mortgage Market Survey of nationwide lenders published on October 17, 2024. The fixed rate for a 15-year mortgage is 5.63%, up 22 basis points from last week's average 5.41%. These figures are lower than a year ago, when rates averaged 7.63% for a 30-year term and 6.92% for a 15-year term. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased for the third consecutive week, moving closer to 6.5%,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, of the latest data. “In general, higher rates reflect the strength in the economy that is supportive of the housing market. But notably, as compared to a year ago, rates are more than one percentage point lower and potential homebuyers can stand to benefit, especially by shopping around for the best quote as rates can vary widely between mortgage lenders.” Freddie Mac updates its Prime Mortgage Market Survey data weekly on Thursdays at noon ET. 4 top factors that affect your mortgage rate The difference of even half a percentage point on your interest rate can save you hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage, but the mortgage rate you're ultimately offered depends on the mortgage you're interested in, payments you're willing to pay up front and your overall financial health. Your credit score. Knowing your credit score can help you shop around for lenders you're likely to get approval through, as well as understand the type of mortgage for your lifestyle and income. The best mortgage rates go to borrowers with good to excellent credit — typically a FICO credit score of at least 670 — though even with fair credit, you may be able to find a mortgage offering decent rates. Your down payment. The more money you can put down toward your home, the better it benefits your interest rate. Paying at least 20% of your home's purchase price up front generally results in a lower interest rate — and you can avoid mortgage insurance, which increases your total cost. Your loan term. While the 30-year mortgage remains a popular way for Americans to purchase homes, you can find terms of 20 years, 15 years and 10 years. Shorter loan terms usually come with lower interest rates, though with higher monthly payments. Longer mortgage terms can result in smaller monthly payments, though you'll pay higher total interest over the life of your loan. Interest rate type. Mortgage rates come with two basic types of rates — fixed and variable. Fixed-rate mortgages offer a consistent interest rate over the life of your loan, whereas adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) often start with a lower fixed rate for an agreed-on time and then adjust to a variable rate based on market conditions for the remainder of your term. Choosing between these two rates depends on your financial goals and tolerance for risk. Dig deeper: How much does a change in mortgage rates actually matter? Mortgage rates in the news Mortgage lenders keep a close eye on the benchmark federal funds target interest rate set by the Federal Reserve, the U.S.'s central bank. Called the Fed rate, it's the benchmark that affects rates on deposit accounts, loans and other financial products. Typically, as the fed rate rises, so do APYs on savings products like CDs, high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts and home equity loans. Mortgage rates don't follow the Fed rate as closely, but they do reflect the same elements the Fed evaluates when making decisions on the benchmark — especially inflation — which means as the Fed rate increases, mortgage rates also tend to rise. After increasing the target interest rate 11 times from March 2022 to July 2023 in an effort to combat the highest inflation in four decades coming out of the pandemic, the Federal Reserve announced a highly anticipated half-point cut to its federal funds target interest rate after its September 2024 policy meeting. September 18, 2024: Fed lowers benchmark rate for first time since March 2020 At the conclusion of its sixth rate-setting policy meeting of 2024 on September 18, 2024, the Federal Reserve announced it was lowering the federal funds target interest rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5.00% — the first cut since the Fed began raising rates in March 2022 — from a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.50%. A half-point cut isn’t typical of the Fed’s decisions, which historically call for measured quarter-point reductions, but points to an urgency in keeping the economy healthy, easing a slowdown in the labor market and averting a recession. In its post-meeting statement, the Federal Reserve said it was lowering the target range "in light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks," acknowledging it's "gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance." Economists estimate at least two additional rate cuts this year with an additional four cuts anticipated in 2025. What to expect at the Fed's November policy meeting It's widely expected the Federal Reserve will announce an additional cut to the federal funds rate at its next policy meeting on November 6 and November 7, 2024. The CME FedWatch Tool, which measures market expectations for Fed fund rate changes, projects an 93% chance the Fed will cut rates by a quarter percentage point to a range of 4.50% to 4.75% at its November meeting. Economists are keeping a close eye on inflation and labor reports amid speculation as to timing of future cuts to the Fed rate. Signs of cooling inflation paved the way for September’s first rate cut in four years, with economic data indicating a continued decline from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to rates that have ranged from 2.5% and 4% since May 2023. An eagerly awaited jobs report released October 4 showed much stronger job growth than projected and a drop in the unemployment rate. Employers added 254,000 new jobs to payrolls in September, more than the 150,000 expected, with the unemployment rate down to 4.1% from 4.2% in August. The fresh employment data is good news for the economy amid positive twin inflation reports. The consumer price index released on October 10 showed inflation cooling to its lowest level since February 2021, with a 2.4% year-over-year increase in consumer prices in September, down from 2.5% year over year in August and closer to the Fed's 2% target. The producer price index released on October 11 reported no change in wholesale prices — or the prices manufacturers pay to producers of goods and services — in September from August, together with consumer pricing data, pointing to easing inflation that peaked two years ago and paving the way for the Fed to make another quarter-point cut in November. At a conference in Nashville on September 30, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said "the economy is in solid shape," and that the Federal Reserve "intend(s) to use our tools to keep it there," making its decisions "meeting by meeting." He added, "This is not a committee that feels like it's in a hurry to cut rates quickly.“ The Powell-led rate-setting panel will announce a rate decision at the conclusion of its meeting on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET. Dig deeper: When’s the next Federal Reserve meeting? What to expect — a