Freddie Mac’s last mortgage report of 2025 released earlier this week on New Year’s Eve saw the average mortgage rate hit its lowest level of the year, a positive sign for home shoppers as the holiday season comes to a close and eyes turn toward 2026’s peak buying season in the months ahead.
The latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), released by Freddie Mac Thursday, shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 6.15%, a slight decline of 3 basis points from last week’s rate average of 6.18%.
“After starting the year close to 7%, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved to its lowest level in 2025 this week, an encouraging sign for potential homebuyers heading into the new year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner commented, “This marks the lowest readout of 2025, a year in which rates averaged 6.6%. The yield on the 10-Year Treasury Note has softened during this holiday season, giving mortgage rates a bit of breathing room at year’s end. There is little indication that the Federal Reserve will make any major changes to interest rates in January, and the market is responding favorably to a period of relative stability.”
Berner noted that affordability was the primary constraint on the housing market in 2025, with mortgage rates landing in the mid-6% range for most of the year and home-price growth seeing its weakest reading in two years, which kept many buyers on the sidelines. But, he added that rates have retreated in a meaningful way during the second half of the year and are on track to make 2026 a year of rebound for the housing market.
“If this momentum continues into the peak buying season of 2026, we could see much stronger sales figures than we saw for much of 2025. Already, pending home sales have responded to the relief from mortgage rates and are helping the market to pick up steam through what is traditionally the slowest part of the year.”
At a glance
- The 30-year FRM averaged 6.15% as of December 31, 2025, down from last week when it averaged 6.18%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.91%.
- The 15-year FRM averaged 5.44%, down from last week when it averaged 5.50%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.13%.
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