Here’s a look at the difference in monthly home payments at different mortgage rates

Average rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose slightly last week, according to Freddie Mac’s preliminary mortgage market survey.

The average 30-year mortgage rate rose from 6.24 percent to 6.26 percent, while 15-year rates rose from 5.49 percent to 5.54 percent.

Any time mortgage rates go up — even just 0.02 percent — it can have a significant impact on your monthly payment and the interest you’ll pay over the life of a 30-year fixed rate (the most popular type of mortgage, according to the National Association of Realtors).

“Mortgage rates have moved in a narrow 10-point range over the past month,” Freddie Mac noted on Thursday.

“This rate stability is a positive sign for both buyers and sellers, as it contributes to greater certainty in the housing market.”

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How does this week’s rate increase affect the monthly mortgage payment?

Anytime mortgage rates go up by even just 0.02 percentage points, it can have a significant impact on your monthly mortgage payment and the interest you pay over the life of your 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

For example, the median home price from April to June 2025 was $410,800, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Here’s the difference in monthly payments and total interest paid for an average home price with a 3.5 percent down payment and using rates of 6.24 percent and 6.26 percent:

This week’s slight rate increase will increase the average home payment by $422 per month, and the total interest paid over the life of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will increase to $84,160.

Where do mortgage interest rates go from here?

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, potential buyers may wonder where rates are headed. There is some talk that the Fed may cut the federal funds rate in December. If this happens, it may lower mortgage rates because the Fed’s rate has an indirect effect on mortgage rates.

That said, significantly lower mortgage rates may not happen until the end of the year, says Steve Hill, an SBC Lending broker with more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry.

“By the end of the year, I see rates going up a lot [staying] Hill said Independent. I know buyers are expecting a rate of 0.25 [percentage points] It was lower in December…but with the last few Fed meetings, rates have risen after the announcement, which is a difficult message for borrowers to digest because it’s counterintuitive.

So borrowers waiting for a rate cut may be disappointed if they wait until December to buy. But is buying a house a good choice now?

“One hundred percent—that’s the message I try to convey to homebuyers,” Hill says. In January rates were 7.25% and today, they are a full point lower, and by shopping around you can get rates in the 5.875% range.