What are today's mortgage interest rates: May 21, 2026?

Mortgage involvement rates person noticeably changed for buyers and homeowners looking to refinance. Grace Cary/Getty Images

There was cautious optimism successful the aboriginal days of 2026 that the involvement complaint cuts that marked the last months of 2025 would proceed into the caller year. While galore didn't expect a complaint chopped from the Federal Reserve successful January, borrowers were hopeful that further cuts would beryllium issued aboriginal successful the year. But that hasn't happened truthful acold and, successful fact, with inflation present surging, a intermission successful the Federal Reserve's involvement complaint policy whitethorn lone beryllium breached erstwhile the cardinal slope moves to summation rates – not chopped them.

This is discouraging for a wide assortment of borrowers, but particularly truthful for homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance. Both groups person been contending with elevated rates for years now, punctuated lone by a little and impermanent decline successful 2025. And portion determination person been times successful caller months wherever borrowers could person secured a rate nether 6%, that's mostly changed now. Still, each borrower's fiscal circumstances are different, and immoderate whitethorn inactive beryllium capable to acceptable today's rates into their acquisition oregon refinancing plans. To amended find if it makes consciousness to enactment now, it helps to cognize wherever owe involvement rates basal currently, arsenic of May 21, 2026. 

See what owe involvement complaint offers you suffice for here.

What are today's owe involvement rates?

The mean owe involvement complaint for a 30-year owe indebtedness is 6.62% arsenic of May 21, 2026, according to Zillow. The mean complaint for a 15-year word is 6%. Both correspond important increases compared to what was disposable past month, for example. And they've besides mostly negated overmuch of the betterment borrowers saw successful 2025 erstwhile rates declined by astir 1 percent point. 

Still, these are conscionable averages cited from a azygous source, and borrowers whitethorn beryllium capable to find much competitory rates by shopping around online now. But this process should commencement sooner alternatively than later, peculiarly for buyers hoping to find and bargain a location this summer.

Shop for owe rates and lenders online today.

What are today's owe refinance rates?

The mean owe refinance complaint connected a 30-year owe is 6.87% arsenic of May 21, 2026, according to Zillow. The median refi complaint for a 15-year word is 6%. These rates are besides up from wherever they were successful caller months, but if they correspond a complaint savings ranging from a half a percent point to a full percent point disconnected of your existent rate, they whitethorn inactive beryllium worthy pursuing. 

Homeowners should besides analyse their 20-year mortgage refinance options, which whitethorn beryllium capable to connection a operation of an improved complaint and an expedited payoff timeline, adjacent if the second whitethorn effect successful larger, condensed monthly payments.

The bottommost line

The mean owe involvement complaint connected a 30-year owe is 6.62% arsenic of May 21, 2026, and it is 6% for a 15-year option. The mean refinance complaint connected a 30-year term, meanwhile, is 6.87%, and it is 6% for a 15-year alternative. All 4 of these rates are importantly higher than they had been successful ample parts of 2025 and adjacent successful the aboriginal months of 2026. So, for borrowers who request to instrumentality enactment now, it whitethorn marque consciousness to research their mortgage complaint lock options carefully. By locking successful 1 of today's rates, they tin circumvent immoderate complaint hikes inactive perchance to travel and, if rates reverse course, they tin ever interval their existent complaint down to the new, little one.

Edited by Angelica Leicht