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The headlines have reported 30-year fixed home loan rates above 6% for over three years now. If you’re looking for a mortgage rate in the 5% range, you should know — they’re already here. Here’s how to find them.
MORE:See our top picks for mortgage lenders for first-time home buyers.
While it hasn’t yet made national news, mortgage rates can already be found in the 5% range.
A Yahoo Finance weekly survey of lenders with the best rates reveals five major lenders offering interest rates below 6%.
Two of the lenders, Citi Mortgage and Navy Federal, are edging very close to 5.5% with offering rates of 5.625%. Even with lender fees included, both lenders have annual percentage rates (APRs) close to 5.7%.
The survey reveals rates have been dropping for well over a month, but have been in the sub-6% range since the beginning of November. It’s important to note that the survey is based on a median credit score of 715 with a 20% down payment on a home valued at just under $411,000.
If you have a higher credit score, your mortgage rate could be even lower.
To see how these sub-6% mortgage rates might impact your monthly payment, use the Yahoo Finance Mortgage calculator below. You will also find a drop-down where you can include mortgage insurance and HOA dues to get an even more accurate payment estimate.
Mortgage rates in the 5% range will bring buyers and sellers back into the market. But would a resurging market introduce more competition for buyers?
Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said that while home buyers are looking for lower mortgage rates, home sellers are too. Listings may increase as sellers see an opportunity to move into their next house at a reasonable interest rate.
“When rates drop, normally that would increase competitiveness in the market because it creates opportunities for home buyers. But I think, interestingly, this will also create some opportunities for home sellers, so we might not see competitiveness pick up quite as much.”
If lenders with the lowest rates are already close to 5.5%, you should be preparing for even lower rates now. New credit scoring models for mortgages take effect in 2026, which might help you earn a better rate offer.
The Yahoo Finance weekly mortgage rate survey also proves the power of shopping with multiple mortgage lenders. The spread between the best and worst rates is 1% or more. To prepare for lower mortgage rates:
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Have your down payment in the bank. When an opportunity to buy presents itself, you’ll have the funds ready to take action. You should also have enough to cover closing costs.
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Check your credit score and get your personal finances in shape.
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Nail down your home price range and target monthly payment. Knowing how much house you can afford and narrowing down the appropriate neighborhoods can set you up for early success when the time is right.
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Explore a prequalification. Talk to a few mortgage lenders and have your home loan options lined up. You can have the lenders in your pocket for when it’s time for an official loan preapproval.
Remember, national rates in the news have little to do with the interest rate you’ll earn. That’s because mortgage rates vary by state.
The average 30-year mortgage interest rate dipped into the lower 5% range for about six weeks in the summer of 2003. Then again, briefly in March 2004. A longer stretch of mortgage rates near and well below 5% began during the housing crisis and recession of 2008 and lasted 14 years, ending in October 2022.
It’s unlikely that mortgage rates will fall to 4% anytime soon. Unusually low mortgage rates became possible only after the 2008 housing crisis and the ensuing recession. Then, the COVID pandemic further suppressed them. It was a rare set of circumstances that pushed mortgage rates to historic lows. It would likely take equally uncommon events to cause such low rates to happen again.
The Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate three times in 2025, and is widely expected to do so again once or twice in 2026. While mortgage rates don’t directly respond to the Fed’s monetary policy, it’s a factor in the economic mix that does drive home loan rates lower. We saw that in the last three months of 2025.
Buy a home when you can afford to. A mortgage rate is not a lifetime commitment. It’s likely you’ll own more than one house, and even if you buy at a higher rate now, you can always refinance your mortgage when rates come down.
Laura Grace Tarpley edited this article.