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Mortgage Rates Are Holding Steady This Week, With the 30-Year Fixed at 6.7%

Rates barely moved day to day, but refinancing demand is fading as the Fed's next decision looms in September.

By THRYV Money Desk·Published August 13, 2026·Updated August 13, 2026·3 min read
Mortgage Rates Are Holding Steady This Week, With the 30-Year Fixed at 6.7%
Finance · Illustration commissioned for THRYV. Photography is replaced with original imagery as each story is produced.

The takeaway

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.698% on August 13, down just one basis point from a week earlier, while the 15-year fixed held at 5.852%. The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate unchanged at its late-July meeting, and refinance demand has cooled as fewer homeowners find current rates worth switching into.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.698% on August 13, according to rate data reported by Fortune, down one basis point from 6.710% a week earlier. The 15-year fixed averaged 5.852%, essentially unchanged from 5.848%.

Why rates aren't moving much

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50%–3.75% following its July 28–29 meeting, and the next decision isn't due until the September 15–16 meeting. With no fresh signal from the Fed, mortgage rates have mostly drifted sideways over the past week.

Refinancing is losing its appeal

Mortgage applications rose 3.6% for the week ending August 7, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but that growth is increasingly coming from homebuyers rather than people refinancing existing loans. "Refinance incentives have dwindled with rates at current levels," said Joel Kan, the MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist, noting the average loan size for refinance applications fell to its lowest level since July 2025.

Kan also pointed to a brief dip in oil prices — tied to hopes for a sustained resolution to the war in Iran — as a factor that nudged some of last week's application activity.

If you're house hunting

With rates essentially flat and the Fed on hold until mid-September, there's little reason to wait for a dramatic drop before locking in a rate — but it's worth watching the September Fed meeting before making a final call on timing.

Sources

This article is original writing by THRYV. We link to primary reporting and official documents rather than reproducing them.

  1. Mortgage Rates Report — August 13, 2026 — Fortune

Why you can trust this article

Written and edited in-house by the THRYV Money Desk. We do not republish or reword agency copy, and we do not invent quotes, statistics, testimonials or ratings. Where figures move frequently, we point you to the primary release rather than printing a number that will be out of date. Advertising and affiliate partnerships have no influence on our reporting — see our editorial standards, fact-checking policy and affiliate disclosure. Spotted an error? Write to newsroom@thryv-news.com.

General information only. Not personalised financial, medical or legal advice.

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