Key takeaways As of May 6, 2026, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.43% — up from the beginning of the year, but lower than the 2025 average of 6.66%. Looking at the past four decades, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage peaked in 1981, rising just above 16%. The average 30-year fixed rate bottomed in 2021 at just under 3%. The residential mortgage as we know it today is less than a century old. In fact, until the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established in 1934, only one in 10 Americans even owned a home. That all changed with the introduction of the  30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the Great Depression, which made homeownership possible for millions. Recent changes in mortgage rates have put a strain on the housing market. Historically low rates at the start of the 2020s led to a surge in home prices, and rates have stayed consistently between 6% and 7% since the Federal Reserve raised rates in 2022. However, home prices remain high.…