Mortgage rates ease in April, 30-year fixed stays near 6.3%

Mortgage rates slipped further in April, but the 30-year fixed still sat close to a level that keeps affordability tight for many buyers. Bankrate said the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.30% on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. On a $300,000 loan, that works out to about $1,857 a month in principal and interest, and it is about $105 less than the roughly $1,962 payment that same loan would have carried at 6.83% a year earlier.

That difference matters because small rate moves change how far a paycheck goes in the housing market. A borrower with a $1,900 monthly principal-and-interest budget could support about $306,960 in mortgage principal at 6.30%, compared with about $290,553 at 6.83%. That gap of roughly $16,400 can decide whether a buyer keeps shopping, trims the price range or stays in a rental for another year.

Bankrate also put the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate at 5.69% and the average 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage at 5.53% on April 22. For homeowners looking to refinance, Bankrate said the national average 15-year fixed refinance rate was 5.97%, while the 30-year refinance rate was 6.58%. Those levels leave refinancing possible for some borrowers, but the spread between current mortgage rates and refinance quotes shows that the market is still sorting through higher borrowing costs.

Freddie Mac’s most recent Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 6.30% as of April 16 and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.65%. Freddie Mac said its survey is released weekly on Thursdays at 12 p.m. ET and reflects rates offered during the prior Thursday-through-Wednesday period. Its 30-year rate was 6.46% on April 2 and 6.37% on April 9, a clear easing from the start of the month.

Mortgage News Daily put its 30-year fixed index at 6.33% on April 21, close to Freddie Mac’s reading and the Bankrate average. The broader picture has not changed much: mortgage rates remain above 6%, a level that continues to squeeze affordability even as the spring buying season gets underway. CNBC said on April 15 that mortgage rates had fallen to the lowest level in a month, lifting refinance activity even as weak homebuyer demand persisted.