Editor's Note: Investopedia will not publish daily mortgage rate news on Monday, Oct. 14, in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day. We will return to our daily rate coverage on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

The states wi༒th the lowest 30-year new purchase mortgage rates Thursday were California, Florida, Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The six states regi💯stered averages between 6.43% and 6.47%.

Meanwhile, the states with the highest Thursday averages were New York; Washington, D.C.; West Vir⭕ginia; Maryland; Wyoming; and Vermont. The range of 30-year averages for these states was 6.61% to 6.73%.

Mortgage rates vary by the state where they originate. Different lenders oper🐷ate in different regions, and rates can be influenced by state-level variations in credit score, average loan size, and regulations. Lenders also have varying risk management strategies that influence the rates they offer.

Since rates vary widely across lenders, it's always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter the type of home loan you seek.

National Mortgage Rate Averages

Rates on 30-year new purchase mortgages were flat at a 6.52% national🍰 average on Thursday. That's 63 basis points above mid-September, when the average sank to 5.89%—its cheapest level in two y♉ears. But 30-year mortgage rates are well below where they were earlier this summer, when they started July above 7%.

Calculate monthly payments for different loan scenarios with our 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Mortgage Calculator.

What Causes Mortgage Rates to Rise or Fall?

Mortgag𒆙e rates are determined by a complex interaction of macroeconomic and industry factors, such as:

• The level and direction of the bond market, especially 10-year Treasury yields
• The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Reserve's current monetary policy, especially as it relates to bond buying and funding government-backed mortgages
• Competition between mortgage lenders and across loan types

Because any number of these can cause fluctuations simultaneously, it's generally difficult to attribute any change to any one factor.

Macroeconomic factors kept the mortgage market relatively low for much of 2021. In particular, the Federal Reserve had been buying billions of dollars of bonds in response to the pandemic's economic pressures. This 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bond-buying policy is a major influencer of mortgage rates.

But starting in November 2021, the Fed began tapering its bond purchases downward, making sizable monthly reductions until reaching net zero in March 2022.

Between that time and July 2023, the Fed aggressively raised the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:federal funds rate to fight decades-high inflation. While the fed funds rate can influence mortgage rates, it doesn't directly do so. In fact, the fed funds rate and mortgage rates can move in opp🌳osite directions.

But given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed's 2022 and 2023 rate increases—raising the benchmark rate 5.25 percentage points over 16 months—even the indirect influence of the fed funds rate has resulted in a dramatic upward impact on mortgage rates over the last two years.

The Fed maintained the federal funds rate at its peak level for almost 14 months, beginning in July 2023. But on Sept. 18, the central bank 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:announced the first rate cut in what's expected to be a series of decreas🔴es in 2024 and likely 2025. This first reduction was by 0.50 perce🐭ntage points.

The Fed's next rate announcement will be made Nov. 7.

How We Track Mortgage Rates

The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when receiving quotes from lenders based on their qualification⛦s, which may vary🍃 from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2024. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.