April 10, 2024—Rates Inch Down – Forbes Advisor

The rate on a 30-year fixed refinance tumbled today.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage refinance is 7.42%, according to Curinos, while the average rate on a 15-year mortgage refinance is 6.67%. On a 20-year mortgage refinance, the average rate is 7.28%.

Related: Compare Current Refinance Rates

Refinance Rates for April 10, 2024

30-Year Fixed Refinance Interest Rates

Currently, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage refinance is 7.42%. That’s compared to 7.48% last week. Borrowers with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of $100,000 will pay $694 per month for principal and interest at the current interest rate of 7.42%, according to the Forbes Advisor mortgage calculatornot including taxes and fees.

Over the life of the loan, the borrower will pay total interest costs of about $149,822. A different way of looking at interest rates is the annual percentage rate, or APR. For a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the APR is 7.46% compared to 7.53% last week. The APR is essentially the all-in cost of the home loan.

20-Year Refinance Interest Rates

The average interest rate on the 20-year fixed refinance mortgage is 7.28%. One week ago, the 20-year fixed-rate mortgage was at 7.34%.

The APR on a 20-year fixed is 7.31%. One week ago, it was 7.36%.

A 20-year fixed-rate mortgage refinance of $100,000 with today’s interest rate of 7.28% will cost $792 per month in principal and interest. Taxes and fees are not included. Over the life of the loan, you would pay around $90,083 in total interest.

15-Year Refinance Interest Rates

The 15-year fixed mortgage refinance is currently averaging about 6.67%. That’s compared to the average of 6.65% at this time last week.

The APR, or annual percentage rate, on a 15-year fixed mortgage is 6.67% versus 6.64% at this time last week.

At the current interest rate of 6.67%, a borrower using a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage refinance of $100,000 would pay $880 per month in principal and interest. That doesn’t include taxes and fees. That borrower would pay roughly $58,447 in total interest over the 15-year life of the loan.

30-Year Jumbo Refinance Interest Rates

The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage refinance is 7.50%. Last week, the average rate was 7.48%.

Borrowers with a 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage refinance with today’s interest rate of 7.50% will pay $699 per month in principal and interest per $100,000.

15-Year Jumbo Refinance Interest Rates

A 15-year, fixed-rate jumbo mortgage refinance has an average interest rate of 7.03%, compared to an average of 7.11% last week.

At today’s rate of 7.03%, a borrower would pay $901 per month in principal and interest per $100,000 for a 15-year, fixed-rate jumbo refi. Over the life of the loan, that borrower would pay around $465,759 in total interest.

Are Refinance Rates and Mortgage Rates the Same?

Mortgage lenders charge different interest rates for purchase and refinance loans. Current refinance rates are typically 0.01% to 0.15% higher for a 30-year fixed rate versus a purchase loan.

You can reduce your interest rate by paying your closing costs up front instead of rolling them into the loan with a no-closing-cost refinance loan. Buying discount points and avoiding mortgage insurance can also help.

Know When To Refinance Your Home

Refinancing your mortgage can be a wise move for many reasons, most notably lowering your interest rate or your monthly payments. It can also help you pay down your mortgage sooner, access your home’s equity or get rid of private mortgage insurance (PMI).

But there are closing costs associated with refinancing, so it probably makes more sense to refinance if you know you’ll be keeping your home for some time. You can determine the “break-even point” for a potential refinance, or how long it will take for savings from a new mortgage to surpass any closing costs. Find out what those costs will be and divide them by the monthly savings you’ll realize with the new mortgage.

The Forbes Advisor mortgage refinance calculator can help you run the numbers to see if it’s a good time for you to refinance.

Is Now a Good Time To Refinance?

Consider refinancing your mortgage when you need a more affordable monthly payment, want to stop paying annual FHA or USDA loan fees or would prefer a fixed interest rate. You may also consider a cash-out refinance to borrow from your home equity.

However, as refinance rates have increased by several percentage points from near-term lows in late 2021, it can be harder to replace your existing interest rate with a lower one, unless you refinance to a 15-year mortgage. As a result, extending your loan term is the one way to reduce your payment, but you can end up paying more total interest.

The application process is similar to buying a home. Plus, home appraisal fees and closing costs from 2% to 6% of the loan amount apply and add to your lifetime borrowing costs.

How To Get Today’s Best Refinance Rates

Much like when you shopped for a mortgage when purchasing your home, when you refinance here’s how you can find the lowest refinance rate:

• Maintain a good credit score
• Consider a shorter-term loan
• Lower your debt-to-income ratio
• Monitor mortgage rates

A solid credit score isn’t a guarantee that you’ll get your refinance approved or score the lowest rate, but it could make your path easier. Lenders are also more likely to approve you if you don’t have excessive monthly debt. You also should keep an eye on mortgage rates for various loan terms. They fluctuate frequently, and loans that need to be paid off sooner tend to charge lower interest rates.

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