Loans & Mortgages
Loans & Mortgages is a data page on the Personal Finance desk of Glassbox Auditing. Today's mortgage, auto, personal-loan and card rates against their own history, how the Fed's rate reaches them, the payment on a typical home then and now, and payment and rent-versus-own calculators. Borrowing costs decide what households can afford and how fast housing moves.
Last updated: .
What is the latest reading?
Effective federal funds rate, monthly average: 3.9% as of , +3.1 pts since Jul 1954. Source: FRED DFF.
What is on this page today?
- 30-year fixed mortgage rate: 7.18% in the week of 5 Nov — Freddie Mac's weekly survey of lenders · a year earlier 6.17% (Freddie Mac, 4 Nov 2026)
- On $315,000 at 7.18%, the monthly payment is $1,939 over 50 years against $2,134 over 30 — $2,122 a month over 50 years if the lender prices it 0.75 points higher (an assumption) · A loan of $315,000, 80% of the median new-house price of $393,300 (Census Bureau, Q3 2026), at the 30-year rate of 7.18% (Freddie… (Freddie Mac (30-year fixed rate); Census Bureau (median new-house price), 4 Nov 2026)
- After 10 years the balance owed is $305,546 on a 50-year loan against $271,443 on a 30-year loan — $307,567 on 50 years at the assumed higher rate of 7.93% · A loan of $315,000, 80% of the median new-house price of $393,300 (Census Bureau, Q3 2026), at the 30-year rate of 7.18% (Freddie Mac, 5 Nov) (Freddie Mac (30-year fixed rate); Census Bureau (median new-house price), 4 Nov 2026)
- The federal funds rate averaged 3.88% in October 2026; the prime rate 7.00%, the 10-year Treasury yield 5.13%, the 30-year mortgage rate 7.33% — The weekly mortgage rate averaged 2.17 points above that week's 10-year Treasury yield, 2.18 a year earlier · prime 3.12 points above the federal funds rate · Monthly averages of daily and weekly readings (Federal Reserve Board and Freddie Mac, 30 Oct 2026)
- Monthly payment on the median new home: $2,026 in Q3 2026 — Median price $393,300, 20% down, 30-year loan at the quarter's average rate of 6.68%; principal and interest only (Census Bureau and Freddie Mac, 29 Sep 2026)
- Home prices have outgrown rents by 32% since 2000: the price-to-rent index was 132 in August 2026 — Case-Shiller home price index divided by the consumer price index for rent of a primary residence, each set to 100 on its 2000 average · a year earlier 132 (S&P Cotality Case-Shiller and BLS, 30 Aug 2026)
- The payment on a median-priced new home took 29.1% of median household income in 2025 — Twelve payments on the median new-house price with 20% down at the year's average 30-year rate, against median household income of $87,460 · lowest 19.8% in 2020, highest 40.2% in 1984 (Census Bureau and Freddie Mac, 30 Dec 2025)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from Freddie Mac; Freddie Mac (30-year fixed rate); Census Bureau (median new-house price); Federal Reserve Board and Freddie Mac; Census Bureau and Freddie Mac; S&P Cotality Case-Shiller and BLS. Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- Credit & Housing (Macro): Higher mortgage rates raise the monthly payment on the same house, which tends to slow the home sales and new construction shown on the Credit & Housing page. (moves the other way; 1-6 months; economy scale) Source: FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).
- Debt & Interest (Macro): Lenders price mortgages and other loans over the government's own borrowing cost, so consumer loan rates and the Treasury yields on the Debt & Interest page rise and fall together. (moves the same way; same week; economy scale) Source: FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).
What feeds this page?
- Debt & Interest (Macro): The 30-year mortgage rate tends to track the 10-year Treasury yield plus a spread, so a rise in long yields reaches the mortgage rates and monthly payments on Loans & Mortgages within days to weeks. (moves the same way; days to weeks; economy scale) Source: FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).