30-Year mortgage rate minus 10-Year Treasury yield — proxy for MBS risk premium.

View monthly updates and historical trends for Mortgage Spread. from United States. Source: Freddie Mac. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

Graph and download economic data for AD&Co US Mortgage High Yield Index, Credit-and-Option-Adjusted Spread: Mid-Tier (CROASMIDTIER) from Jun 2015 to Jan 2026 about mid-tier, crOAS, CAS, crt, STACR, option-adjusted spread, spread, mortgage, yield, interest rate, interest, rate, indexes, and USA.

View weekly updates and historical trends for 30 Year Mortgage Rate. from United States. Source: Freddie Mac. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates in the United States averaged 6.43 percent in the week ending March 20 of 2026. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States MBA 30-Yr Mortgage Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Mortgage interest rate trends from Feb 2025–Jan 2026 comparing PMMS 30 with FHA, VA, and USDA purchase mortgage rates and program spreads.

Graph and download economic data for Treasury and Agency Securities: Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), All Commercial Banks (H8B1301NCBCQG) from Q4 2009 to Q4 2025 about mortgage-backed, agency, Treasury, securities, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States (MORTGAGE15US) from 1991-08-30 to 2026-03-26 about 15-year, mortgage, fixed, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

After a period of gradual decline, the average annual rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the United States rose to **** percent in 2023, up from the record-low **** percent in 2021. In 2025, interest rates declined slightly. The rate for 15-year fixed mortgages and five-year ARM mortgages followed a similar trend. This was a result of the Federal Reserve increasing the bank rate - a measure introduced to tackle the rising inflation. U.S. home prices going through the roof Mortgage rates have a strong impact on the market – the lower the rate, the lower the loan repayment. The rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreasing after the Great Recession has stimulated the market and boosted home sales. Another problem consumers face is the fact that house prices are rising at an unaffordable level. The median sales price of a new home sold surged in 2021, while the median weekly earnings of a full-time employee maintained a more moderate increase. What are the differences between 15-year and 30-year mortgages? Two of the most popular loan terms available to homebuyers are the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The 30-year option appeals to more consumers because the repayment is spread out over 30 years, meaning the monthly payments are lower. Consumers choosing the 15-year option will have to pay higher monthly payments but benefit from lower interest rates.

30 Year Mortgage Rate in the United States increased to 6.38 percent in March 26 from 6.22 percent in the previous week. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States 30 Year Mortgage Rate.

See the real-world mortgage rate spread matrix for GSE loans. Our analysis shows how loan pricing is adjusted based on borrower credit score and CLTV.

MFA Financial (“MFA”) Series C fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable preferred stock is an attractive short duration fixed income instrument that I expect to generate approximately a 25% IRR and 40% total return over the next year and a half.

The opportunity exists because 1.) the interest rate and mortgage spread environment over the last two years has presented a challenging backdrop for levered long fixed income investing strategies, 2.) one mortgage REIT peer took a surprising position with respect to the LIBOR transition, and 3.) preferred instruments broadly have been out of favor.

I believe the go forward environment for mortgage REITs is conducive to generating positive economic returns, PMT’s position with respect to LIBOR transition is the exception rather than the rule, and there are early signs of increased investor demand for preferred instruments.

MFA Series C preferred will begin paying quarterly dividends at an annual rate of 5.345% over 3-month term SOFR as of March 31, 2025. Mortgage REIT fixed-to-floating rate preferreds that have already reset to floating rate such as AGNC Series C (+5.111%), Annaly Series F (+4.993%) and Annaly Series G (+4.172%) trade at or near par (98% to 101% of par).

Assuming MFA Series C preferred trades at 95% of par once the first floating rate dividend is paid in June 2025, this preferred will generate an approximate 25% IRR and 40% total return. Assuming MFA Series C preferred trades at par once the first floating rate dividend is paid, this preferred would generate a 29% IRR and 48% total return.

AGNC on 10/31/2023: “Our outlook for Agency MBS is very favorable. Spreads have decoupled from treasuries and corporates due to supply and demand technical factors that we expect will ease over time…spreads and other fixed income sectors are close to post-GFC long-term averages, which spreads on Agency MBS are in the 95-plus percentile area.”

MFA on 11/7/2023: “Mortgage spreads are indeed very wide today, but they were at similar levels in 1986, and ’87, in 1999 and 2000 and in 2008 before the Fed began its first round of QE.”

The PMT LIBOR transition wrinkle

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (“PMT”) is a mortgage REIT with two series of fixed-to-floating rate preferred stock. On August 25, 2023, PMT issued a press release stating their position that the Federal Reserve’s LIBOR rule would result in PMT’s fixed-to-floating rate preferred not transitioning to a floating reference rate as a result of USD LIBOR being phased out.

PMT’s press release can be found here.

I believe PMT has taken an aggressive and unique position and am not aware of any other company that has or has indicated an intent to take a similar position. I believe that MFA’s Series C preferred will transition to floating, as scheduled, with the floating benchmark referring to Term SOFR rather than LIBOR for the following reasons:

Graph and download economic data for AD&Co US Mortgage High Yield Index, Credit-and-Option-Adjusted Spread: Tier 1 (CROASTIER1) from Jun 2015 to Jan 2026 about crOAS, CAS, crt, STACR, Tier-1, option-adjusted spread, spread, mortgage, yield, interest rate, interest, rate, indexes, and USA.

See the 2024-2025 trend comparing Freddie Mac's PMMS to actual MBS mortgage rates. Discover why real lender rates are often lower and how this spread impacts lender.

Source data series MORTGAGE30US from the FRED database, maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Historical returns and interest rate spread data used to model mortgage prepayment opportunity costs.

Graph and download economic data for 30-Year Fixed Rate Jumbo Mortgage Index (OBMMIJUMBO30YF) from 2017-01-03 to 2026-03-26 about jumbo, 30-year, mortgage, fixed, rate, indexes, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Contributions to the Cleveland Financial Stress Index: Residential Mortgage-Backed Security Spread (DISCONTINUED) (RMBSSD678FRBCLE) from 1991-09-25 to 2016-05-05 about FSI, mortgage-backed, spread, residential, securities, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for AD&Co US Mortgage High Yield Index, Credit-and-Option-Adjusted Spread: Tier 0 (CROASTIER0) from Jun 2015 to Jan 2026 about tier-0, crOAS, CAS, crt, STACR, option-adjusted spread, spread, mortgage, yield, interest rate, interest, rate, indexes, and USA.

See the average mortgage interest rates by occupancy type by year.