In the United States, interest rates for all mortgage types started to increase in 2021. This was due to the Federal Reserve introducing a series of hikes in the federal funds rate to contain the rising inflation. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the 30-year fixed rate rose slightly, to **** percent. Despite the increase, the rate remained below the peak of **** percent in the same quarter a year ago. Why have U.S. home sales decreased? Cheaper mortgages normally encourage consumers to buy homes, while higher borrowing costs have the opposite effect. As interest rates increased in 2022, the number of existing homes sold plummeted. Soaring house prices over the past 10 years have further affected housing affordability. Between 2013 and 2023, the median price of an existing single-family home risen by about ** percent. On the other hand, the median weekly earnings have risen much slower. Comparing mortgage terms and rates Between 2008 and 2023, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage in the United States stood between **** and **** percent. Over the same period, a 30-year mortgage term averaged a fixed-rate of between **** and **** percent. Rates on 15-year loan terms are lower to encourage a quicker repayment, which helps to improve a homeowner’s equity.

30 Year Mortgage Rate in the United States decreased to 6.72 percent in July 31 from 6.74 percent in the previous week. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States 30 Year Mortgage Rate.

Graph and download economic data for 15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States (MORTGAGE15US) from 1991-08-30 to 2025-07-31 about 15-year, fixed, mortgage, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

Mortgage rates increased at a record pace in 2022, with the 10-year fixed mortgage rate doubling between March 2022 and December 2022. With inflation increasing, the Bank of England introduced several bank rate hikes, resulting in higher mortgage rates. In May 2025, the average 10-year fixed rate interest rate reached **** percent. As borrowing costs get higher, demand for housing is expected to decrease, leading to declining market sentiment and slower house price growth. How have the mortgage hikes affected the market? After surging in 2021, the number of residential properties sold declined in 2023, reaching just above *** million. Despite the number of transactions falling, this figure was higher than the period before the COVID-19 pandemic. The falling transaction volume also impacted mortgage borrowing. Between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the value of new mortgage loans fell year-on-year for five straight quarters in a row. How are higher mortgages affecting homebuyers? Homeowners with a mortgage loan usually lock in a fixed rate deal for two to ten years, meaning that after this period runs out, they need to renegotiate the terms of the loan. Many of the mortgages outstanding were taken out during the period of record-low mortgage rates and have since faced notable increases in their monthly repayment. About **** million homeowners are projected to see their deal expire by the end of 2026. About *** million of these loans are projected to experience a monthly payment increase of up to *** British pounds by 2026.

Mortgage interest rates in Europe soared in 2022 and remained elevated in the following two years. In many countries, this resulted in mortgage interest rates across the region more than doubling. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average mortgage interest rate in the UK stood at *** percent. Belgium had the lowest rate, at **** percent, while Poland had the highest, at *** percent. Why did mortgage interest rates increase? Mortgage rates have risen as a result of the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate increase. The ECB increased its interest rates to tackle inflation. As inflation calms, the ECB is expected to cut rates, which allows mortgage lenders to reduce mortgage interest rates. What is the impact of interest rates on home buying? Lower interest rates make taking out a housing loan more affordable, and thus, encourage home buying. That can be seen in many countries across Europe: In France, the number of residential properties sold rose in the years leading up to 2021, and fell as interest rates increased. The number of houses sold in the UK followed a similar trend.

Graph and download economic data for 5/1-Year Adjustable Rate Mortgage Average in the United States (DISCONTINUED) (MORTGAGE5US) from 2005-01-06 to 2022-11-10 about adjusted, mortgage, interest rate, interest, 5-year, rate, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 30-Year Fixed Rate FHA Mortgage Index (OBMMIFHA30YF) from 2017-01-03 to 2025-07-31 about FHA, 30-year, fixed, mortgage, rate, indexes, and USA.

Libya registered the lowest mortgage interest rate in South Africa in 2022, at five percent. At the other end of the scale was Zimbabwe, where the prevailing mortgage rate was 50 percent. In Ghana, the second to last country in the ranking, interest rates on housing loans averaged 26 percent.

Graph and download economic data for 30-Year Fixed Rate Veterans Affairs Mortgage Index (OBMMIVA30YF) from 2017-01-03 to 2025-07-31 about veterans, 30-year, fixed, mortgage, rate, indexes, and USA.

Data for households in receipt of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans is available in Stat-Xplore on a quarterly basis.

These quarterly experimental statistics include number of households who are currently in receipt of the support as well as the number who have received SMI loans so far (see the background information and methodology note for an explanation of households).

The statistics are broken down by:

• Quarter
• Country, Region
• Qualifying Benefit

Background information

Read the background information and methodology note for guidance on these statistics, such as timeliness and interpretation.

Interactive statistics

Find further breakdowns of these statistics on https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml" class="govuk-link">Stat-Xplore, an online tool for exploring some of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP’s) main statistics.

Feedback

We welcome all feedback on the content, relevance, accessibility and timing of these statistics to help us in producing statistics that meet user needs. For non-media enquiries on these statistics email: stephanie.demiranda@dwp.gov.uk

For media enquiries please contact the DWP press office.

Next releases

Support for Mortgage Interest statistics are published quarterly. The dates for future releases are listed in the statistics release calendar.

Pre-release access

In addition to staff who are responsible for the production and quality assurance of the statistics, up to 24-hour pre-release access is provided to ministers and other officials. We publish the job titles and organisations of the people who have been granted up to 24-hour pre-release access to the latest Support for Mortgage Interest statistics.

Graph and download economic data for 30-Year Fixed Rate Jumbo Mortgage Index (OBMMIJUMBO30YF) from 2017-01-03 to 2025-07-30 about jumbo, 30-year, fixed, mortgage, rate, indexes, and USA.

Rates have been trending downward in Canada for the last five years. The ebbs and flows are caused by changes in Canada’s bond yields (driven by Canadians economic developments and international rate movements, particularly U.S. rate fluctuations) and the overnight rate (which is set by the Bank of Canada). As of August 2022, there has been a 225 bps increase in the prime rate, since beginning of year 2022, from 2.45% to 4.70% as of Aug 24th 2022. The following are the historical conventional mortgage rates offered by the 6 major chartered banks in Canada in the past 20 years.

Interest rates in the UK spiked in 2022 and 2023, with the average rate for new mortgage advances to individuals and individual trusts rising by **** percentage points between January 2022 and January 2024. Mortgages on a floating interest rate were the most expensive as of January 2024, at **** percent. On the other hand, the average rate for new advances with a five-year fixed rate was **** percent.

Mortgage credit interest rate, percent in Denmark, March, 2025 The most recent value is 4.58 percent as of March 2025, a decline compared to the previous value of 4.65 percent. Historically, the average for Denmark from January 2003 to March 2025 is 4.55 percent. The minimum of 2.58 percent was recorded in June 2022, while the maximum of 7.76 percent was reached in November 2008. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

The benchmark interest rate in Sweden was last recorded at 2 percent. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Sweden Interest Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Mortgage credit interest rate, percent in Slovenia, March, 2025 The most recent value is 3.54 percent as of March 2025, no change compared to the previous value of 3.54 percent. Historically, the average for Slovenia from May 2005 to March 2025 is 3.9 percent. The minimum of 1.86 percent was recorded in February 2022, while the maximum of 7.4 percent was reached in October 2008. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

Mortgage interest rates in the UK were on a downward trend for more than a decade before soaring in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average weighted interest rate stood at **** percent — nearly ***** times the interest rate in the fourth quarter of 2021. Mortgage rates also vary depending on the type of mortgage: Historically, fixed rate mortgages with a shorter term had on average lower interest rates. What types of mortgages are there? In terms of the type of interest rate, mortgages can be fixed and variable. A fixed interest rate is simply a mortgage where the rate of repayment is fixed, while a variable rate depends on the lender’s underlying variable interest rate. Furthermore, mortgages could be for a house purchase or for refinancing. The vast majority of mortgages in the UK are fixed rate mortgages for house purchase, and only a small share is for remortgaging. How big is the UK mortgage market? The UK has the largest mortgage market in Europe, amounting to nearly ***billion euros in gross residential mortgage lending as of the second quarter of 2023. When comparing the total outstanding residential mortgage lending, the UK also ranks first with about *** trillion euros.

Mortgage interest rates worldwide varied greatly in 2024, from less than four percent in many European countries, to as high as 44 percent in Turkey. The average mortgage rate in a country depends on the central bank's base lending rate and macroeconomic indicators such as inflation and forecast economic growth. Since 2022, inflationary pressures have led to rapid increase in mortgage interest rates. Which are the leading mortgage markets? An easy way to estimate the importance of the mortgage sector in each country is by comparing household debt depth, or the ratio of the debt held by households compared to the county's GDP. In 2023, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada had some of the highest household debt to GDP ratios worldwide. While this indicator shows the size of the sector relative to the country’s economy, the value of mortgages outstanding allows to compare the market size in different countries. In Europe, for instance, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France were the largest mortgage markets by outstanding mortgage lending. Mortgage lending trends in the U.S. In the United States, new mortgage lending soared in 2021. This was largely due to the growth of new refinance loans that allow homeowners to renegotiate their mortgage terms and replace their existing loan with a more favorable one. Following the rise in interest rates, the mortgage market cooled, and refinance loans declined.

The average mortgage interest rate in Spain followed a downward trend for almost a decade before increasing dramatically in 2022. In 2024, new housing loans had an average interest rate of *** percent — about double the interest rate in 2020. Mortgages with a five- to 10-year term had a slightly lower interest rate, making them the most affordable option. Why did mortgage rates spike? Macroeconomic factors, such as inflation, economic growth, and fiscal policy, play a major role in determining the cost of a loan. Inflation in Europe started rising in late 2021, largely due to surging energy costs. In Spain, the annual change of the consumer price index peaked at almost ** percent in July 2023. The European Central Bank has responded by introducing a series of hikes on the key interest rates (main refinancing operations, marginal lending facility, and deposit facility), which have affected lending rates across the European Union. How has the housing market reacted to the interest rate hike? The housing market follows a certain seasonality, with more home sales in the second and fourth quarters of the year. This was also the case in 2022, but the last quarter of the year saw an annual decline. Though compared to previous years, the number of transactions was one of the highest, the annual decrease shows a potential downturn.

Mortgage credit interest rate, percent in Costa Rica, March, 2025 The most recent value is 7.61 percent as of March 2025, a decline compared to the previous value of 7.69 percent. Historically, the average for Costa Rica from December 2001 to March 2025 is 13.66 percent. The minimum of 6.11 percent was recorded in May 2022, while the maximum of 26.28 percent was reached in August 2002. | TheGlobalEconomy.com