3 surprising mortgage rate facts you may not have known

There's a lot to consider in today's evolving (and cooling) mortgage interest rate climate. peshkov/Getty Images

By now, many homebuyers and owners looking to refinance are well-versed in the basics of mortgage interest rates . Rates were near record lows at the start of the decade, but they surged alongside decades-high inflation in recent years and have since declined again.

To get a low mortgage rate , you'll need to shop around for lenders, apply with a good credit score and clean credit history and be willing to put down a large down payment. Those are some of the items many already know.

But the mortgage interest rate climate of fall 2025 is a unique one, especially now that the Federal Reserve has embarked on a new interest-rate cutting campaign that has and