Annual averages of the 30-year fixed conventional mortgage rate from Freddie Mac's PMMS, 1971 to today. The 50-year span runs from a Volcker peak of 16.63% in 1981 to a pandemic-era trough of 2.96% in 2021.
The Primary Mortgage Market Survey has tracked national mortgage rates weekly since 1971. We aggregate to annual averages for comparability with the Census and NAR sales series. Reported rates exclude points and fees.
Rates spent the 1980s in double digits, fell below 7% only once in 1971 itself and again in 1998, then dropped under 4% for most of 2012–2021 before the Fed's 2022 hiking cycle returned them above 6%. The 2.96% 2021 reading remains a 50-year low.
units, K or Mmedian, current $30-yr fixed, % APRCensusNARFreddie MacNBER monthly