WASHINGTON, DC — Mortgage shoppers started the week with a familiar picture: fixed purchase rates were slightly cheaper than refinance rates, while adjustable-rate pricing moved in different directions. Zillow’s lender marketplace data for Monday, September 7, 2026, put the national average 30-year fixed purchase rate at 6.67%, just 6 basis points below the 30-year refinance rate.
The 15-year fixed purchase rate also came in under the refinance figure, at 6.04% versus 6.11%. But the 5/1 ARM broke the pattern, with a purchase rate of 6.64% compared with a 6.50% refinance rate. All of the figures are national averages rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Zillow’s Monday snapshot shows only small day-to-day rate gaps
The latest pricing gives buyers and refinancers a narrow spread to work with, rather than a dramatic move in either direction. On the purchase side, Zillow listed the 20-year fixed rate at 6.66%, the 7/1 ARM at 6.53%, and VA loans at 6.32% for a 30-year term, 5.91% for 15 years, and 5.93% for a 5/1 ARM.
Refinance averages were close behind in several categories. Zillow’s Monday data showed 20-year fixed refinance loans at 6.68%, 7/1 ARMs at 6.63%, 30-year VA refis at 6.23%, 15-year VA refis at 5.86%, and 5/1 VA refis at 6.01%. The numbers suggest a market that is still shifting by small increments rather than making a clean break lower.
What a 30-year loan looks like at today’s rate
The 30-year fixed mortgage remains the most common choice because stretching payments over 360 months keeps the monthly bill lower than shorter terms. At today’s average purchase rate of 6.67%, the tradeoff is a higher lifetime interest cost than borrowers would face with a shorter loan.
Zillow illustrated that point with a $300,000 mortgage at 6.70% over 30 years. The principal-and-interest payment would be about $1,935.04 a month, and total interest over the life of the loan would reach about $396,614. Total payments would come to roughly $696,614. That example shows why even a small rate shift matters over three decades.
A 15-year mortgage cuts interest but pushes up monthly bills
Borrowers willing to take on a higher monthly payment can save a significant amount in interest by choosing a 15-year term. Zillow’s average 15-year purchase rate on Monday was 6.04%, well below the 30-year rate, but the shorter payoff window makes the monthly obligation much larger.
On the same $300,000 loan, Zillow estimated a 15-year payment of about $2,537.41 a month at 6.04%. The upside is much lower lifetime interest: about $156,734. That is roughly $240,000 less interest than the 30-year example, underscoring the basic tradeoff between monthly affordability and total borrowing cost.
Adjustable-rate mortgages are not automatically cheaper anymore
Adjustable-rate mortgages usually start with a lower introductory rate than fixed loans, but that pattern was not universal in Zillow’s latest numbers. The 5/1 ARM purchase rate of 6.64% was actually higher than the 30-year fixed purchase rate and higher than the 15-year fixed rate as well.
Under a 5/1 ARM, the interest rate stays fixed for the first five years before adjusting annually. That can work for buyers who expect to sell or refinance before the rate starts changing. But when ARM pricing is close to, or even above, fixed-rate pricing, the usual advantage becomes less clear and shopping around matters more.
Zillow says buyers can still improve pricing with stronger finances
Zillow said lenders generally reserve their best mortgage offers for borrowers with larger down payments, solid credit scores, and lower debt-to-income ratios. In practice, that means the headline rate is only a starting point; the borrower’s profile can move the final offer up or down.
The company also pointed to rate buydowns as one way to lower the cost of borrowing. A permanent buydown uses discount points paid at closing, while a temporary buydown can reduce the rate for the first few years before it resets to the full note rate. Zillow’s example used a 2-1 buydown on a 6.25% loan, starting at 4.25% in year one, then 5.25% in year two, before returning to 6.25% for the rest of the term.
Forecasters see rates staying near today’s range through 2026
For shoppers trying to decide whether to lock now or wait, the broad forecast does not point to a steep near-term drop. The Mortgage Bankers Association expects the 30-year mortgage rate to average between 6.6% and 6.7% for the rest of 2026.
Fannie Mae is slightly higher in its outlook, projecting a 30-year rate between 6.7% and 6.8% through year-end. Together, those projections suggest a market that may stay close to today’s levels rather than delivering a sharp decline, which helps explain why purchase and refinance pricing remain tightly clustered in Zillow’s daily data.
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