What mortgage rate can I get?

Why your rate differs from the average

The rate you see in the news is an average for a strong borrower. Your own rate depends largely on your credit score and down payment, because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders a fee, called a loan-level price adjustment, for loans with lower scores or smaller down payments. Lenders pass that cost on as a higher rate or as points.

How this estimate works

We start with Freddie Mac’s weekly 30-year average, which describes a borrower with about 20% down and excellent credit. Then we apply Fannie Mae’s published price adjustment for your credit score and down payment, compared with that typical borrower. Lenders usually treat one point of up-front cost (1% of the loan) as worth about a quarter of a percentage point of rate, so we convert the adjustment that way. The table shows the same calculation for every credit score bracket.

An example

With a 700–719 score and 10% down on a $450,000 home, the price adjustment is 1.25% of the loan. That works out to an estimated rate about 0.16 percentage points above the average, plus monthly mortgage insurance that is also priced by credit score.

What else moves your rate

• Points you choose to pay, and lender credits.
• Loan type: FHA and VA loans are priced differently.
• Property type (condos, multi-unit homes), investment properties and cash-out refinances, which carry extra adjustments.
• The day you lock: rates move daily.

Using the estimate

Use it as a reasonableness check. If a lender’s quote is far above the estimate for your score and down payment, ask why, or compare with another lender. If you’re close to the next credit bracket, the table shows what reaching it could be worth, which helps decide whether to pay down a card before applying. Remember that the estimate is for a conventional loan on a home you’ll live in; condos, second homes and investment properties carry additional adjustments.

Questions buyers ask