Today's mortgage and benchmark rates.

Every card reads live from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). The benchmark cards: the 30- and 15-year fixed averages are Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursdays at 12 pm ET), the 10-year Treasury refreshes every business day, and the Federal funds rate updates monthly. The rates-by-loan-program cards (conforming, jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA) are the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices and refresh every business day. New releases surface here within roughly an hour of publication.

Mortgage rates do not track the Fed funds rate directly. They track the 10-year Treasury yield with a typical spread of 150 to 200 basis points. If you want a leading indicator for where 30-year mortgages are about to move, watch the 10-year, not the next FOMC meeting headline.

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. The APR (annual percentage rate) is the interest rate plus the loan's fees (origination, points, mortgage insurance, certain closing costs) expressed as an annualized percentage. APR is higher than the rate. For an apples-to-apples lender comparison, ask for both.

Two reasons. First, the lender's risk is shorter (the loan is paid off in half the time). Second, the yield curve. Longer-duration loans price off longer-duration Treasuries, which usually yield more than shorter-duration ones. The trade-off is the monthly payment: a 15-year payment is meaningfully higher than a 30-year payment on the same loan amount, even at a lower rate.

The mortgage rates on this page are the national average for a conventional, conforming 30- or 15-year fixed-rate loan. For most California buyers in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire, this is the right benchmark. If you're shopping a jumbo loan (above the 2026 conforming limit of $806,500 in most SoCal counties, higher in OC), expect jumbo rates to vary from this benchmark by 25 to 75 basis points up or down depending on the lender and the credit profile.

Two paths. For a strategic read on your specific home (the right list price for a seller, the right offer math for a buyer), use the form above and I'll come back inside 24 hours with the numbers pulled. For a live rate quote on a specific mortgage application, I'll connect you with a vetted local lender from my bench. No app, no credit pull, just a real conversation.

Each program prices its own way, which is why the cards above differ on the same day. Conforming loans fall within the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac limit and carry the baseline rate. Jumbo loans exceed that limit and price separately depending on the lender's appetite. FHA and VA are government-backed: FHA suits lower down payments and credit, and VA, for eligible veterans and service members, usually shows the lowest rate on this page. USDA covers eligible rural and some suburban areas with zero down. The card you should watch is the one matching the loan you'll actually use.

A high-balance loan is a conforming loan in a high-cost county: above the national baseline limit but at or below the county ceiling. In Orange County and Los Angeles County that 2026 ceiling is $1,209,750 (150% of the $806,500 baseline), so a large share of SoCal purchases land in high-balance territory. Its pricing sits between standard conforming and true jumbo. There is no separate public daily index for it, so the 30-year jumbo / high balance card above is the closest live read; an actual high-balance quote usually lands a touch below the jumbo number.

Both are government-backed, which lowers the lender's risk and lets them quote a lower note rate. VA loans are guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and usually show the lowest rate on this page; FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The catch is the insurance cost: FHA carries mortgage insurance premiums and VA charges a one-time funding fee, so the lower note rate does not always mean the lowest total cost. Compare the all-in number, not just the rate.