According to Bankrate, the average interest rate on a standard 30-year fixed mortgage last week was 6.98%, down 0.04 percentage point from 7.02% the previous week.
A 30-year fixed mortgage is the most commonly sought loan term.
A 30-year fixed rate mortgage will have lower monthly payments than a 15-year fixed rate mortgage, but will usually have a higher interest rate.
The average interest rate on a standard 15-year fixed mortgage was 6.48%, down 0.06 percentage point from 6.54% the previous week, according to Bankrate.
A 15-year fixed rate mortgage will have a higher monthly payment than a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
However, interest rates are usually lower and the loan is paid off faster, so you end up paying less interest in total.
According to Bankrate, the average interest rate on a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 6.52%, down 0.07 percentage point from 6.59% the previous week.
ARMs often offer lower interest rates than fixed-rate mortgages, including for the first five years.
But your payments could go up or down over that period, depending on the terms of the loan and how interest rates track with the market.
When choosing a mortgage, it is important to choose the loan term and payment schedule.
According to CNET, you'll typically be offered a 15- or 30-year loan term, but it's not uncommon to see 10-, 20-, or even 40-year mortgages.
Mortgages can be either fixed or variable rate. With a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate remains constant for the life of the loan.
With an adjustable rate mortgage, your interest rate is set for a set period of time and then adjusts annually based on the market.