Current mortgage rates have decreased a little. According to Zillow, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate is down by three basis points to 6.53%, and the 15-year fixed rate has decreased by two basis points to 5.67%.

The August Fannie Mae Housing Forecast predicts the 30-year mortgage rate will be 6.5% by the end of 2025. If you want to buy a house by the end of the year, now could be as good a time as any.

Read next: 2025 housing market — Is now a good time to buy a house?

Here are the current mortgage rates, according to the latest Zillow data:

• 30-year fixed: 6.53%

• 20-year fixed: 6.26%

• 15-year fixed: 5.67%

• 5/1 ARM: 6.77%

• 7/1 ARM: 6.78%

• 30-year VA: 6.09%

• 15-year VA: 5.65%

• 5/1 VA: 5.72%

Remember, these are the national averages and rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Learn more: Should you buy a house? How to know if you’re ready.

These are today’s mortgage refinance rates, according to the latest Zillow data:

• 30-year fixed: 6.55%

• 20-year fixed: 6.20%

• 15-year fixed: 5.83%

• 5/1 ARM: 7.04%

• 7/1 ARM: 6.89%

• 30-year VA: 6.03%

• 15-year VA: 5.53%

• 5/1 VA: 5.49%

Again, the numbers provided are national averages rounded to the nearest hundredth. Although it’s not always the case, mortgage refinance rates tend to be a little higher than purchase rates.

Read more: The best mortgage refinance lenders right now

You can use the free Yahoo Finance mortgage calculator to play around with how different terms and rates will affect your monthly payment. Our calculator considers factors like property taxes and homeowners insurance when estimating your monthly mortgage payment. This gives you a better idea of your total monthly payment than if you just looked at mortgage principal and interest.

But if you want a quick, simple way to see how today’s rates would impact your monthly mortgage payment, try out the calculator below:

Today’s average 30-year mortgage rate is 6.53%. A 30-year term is the most popular type of mortgage because by spreading out your payments over 360 months, your monthly payment is relatively low.

If you had a $300,000 mortgage with a 30-year term and a 6.53% rate, your monthly payment toward the principal and interest would be about $1,902, and you’d pay $384,766 in interest over the life of your loan — on top of that original $300,000.

The average 15-year mortgage rate is 5.67% today. Several factors must be considered when deciding between a 15-year and 30-year mortgage.

A 15-year mortgage comes with a lower interest rate than a 30-year term. This is great in the long run because you’ll pay off your loan 15 years sooner, and that’s 15 fewer years for interest to compound.

However, your monthly payments will be higher because you’re squeezing the same debt payoff into half the time.

If you get that same $300,000 mortgage with a 15-year term and a 5.67% rate, your monthly payment would jump to $2,478. But you’d only pay $146,112 in interest over the years.

Dig deeper: How much house can I afford? Use our home affordability calculator.

With an adjustable-rate mortgage, your rate is locked in for a set period of time and then increases or decreases periodically. For example, with a 5/1 ARM, your rate stays the same for the first five years, then changes every year.

Adjustable rates usually start lower than fixed rates, but you run the risk that your rate goes up once the introductory rate-lock period is over. But an ARM could be a good fit if you plan to sell the home before your rate-lock period ends — that way, you pay a lower rate without worrying about it rising later.

Lately, ARM rates have occasionally been similar to or higher than fixed rates. Before dedicating yourself to a fixed or adjustable mortgage rate, be sure to shop around for the best lenders and rates. Some will offer more competitive adjustable rates than others.

Mortgage lenders typically give the lowest mortgage rates to people with higher down payments, excellent credit scores, and low debt-to-income ratios. So if you want a lower rate, try saving more, improving your credit score, or paying down some debt before you start shopping for homes.

You can also buy down your interest rate permanently by paying for discount points at closing. A temporary interest rate buydown (as mentioned early in the article) is also an option — for example, maybe you get a 6.5% rate with a 2-1 buydown. Your rate would start at 4.5% for year one, increase to 5.5% for year two, then settle in at 6.5% for the remainder of your term.

Just consider whether these buydowns are worth the extra money at closing. Ask yourself if you’ll stay in the home long enough that the amount you save with a lower rate offsets the cost of buying down your rate before making your decision.

Here are interest rates for some of the most popular mortgage terms: According to Zillow data, the national average 30-year fixed rate is 6.53%, the 15-year fixed rate is 5.67%, and the 5/1 ARM rate is 6.77%.

A normal mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed loan is 6.53%. However, keep in mind that’s the national average based on Zillow data. The average might be higher or lower depending on where you live in the U.S.

Mortgage rates are not expected to drop significantly in 2025 while economists monitor inflation, tariffs, and the Federal Reserve. Still, rates could decrease a little bit more before the next Fed meeting in September.

Gold () futures opened at $3,417.60 per ounce on Monday, up 1.3% from Friday’s close of $3,374.40. The price of gold has not opened above $3,400 since August 8.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell implied the central bank could lower interest rates soon. He noted that upcoming job growth and inflation data would shape future rate decisions. Some of that data will be available this week, including updates on inflation, personal income, and initial jobless claims. A second quarter GDP update and the consumer sentiment reading for August are also on the calendar.

Lower interest rates and weaker economic growth tend to strengthen gold demand.

The opening price of gold futures on Monday is up 1.3% from Friday’s close of $3,374.40 per ounce. Monday’s opening price is up 2.5% from the opening price of $3,333.50 one week ago on August 18. In the past month, the gold futures price has increased 2.2% compared to the opening price of $3,344 on July 25, 2025. In the past year, gold is up 37.4% from the opening price of $2,486.50 on August 23, 2024.

24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.

Investing in gold is a four-step process:

1. Set your goal

2. Set an allocation

3. Choose a form

4. Consider your investment timeline

The first step to investing in gold is understanding your goals for buying it.

Given gold’s historic behavior, three suitable investing goals for a gold position are:

1. Diversification into an asset that moves independently from stock prices

2. Protection against inflation-related loss of purchase power

3. Backup source of value and wealth in an unlikely economic collapse

Gold has long been part of a balanced portfolio given its ability to hold its value – or even increase further – when the value of other assets is falling. That is why investors utilize gold as a stabilizer. Investors rely on gold’s strength in tough times to limit unrealized losses in equities and inflation-related reductions in purchasing power of cash deposits. That’s exactly what we’re seeing play out now before our eyes.

Gold is also a widely recognized store of value. As such, the precious metal can potentially stand in as a medium of exchange if the dollar collapses.

“I recommend that everyone buy a little gold as a hedge against calamity,” said Scott Travers, author of The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual and editor of “COINage” magazine, in an interview with Bottom Line, Inc. Gold “should be viewed as an insurance policy,” he said.

Learn more:

Whether you’re tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart below shows the precious metal’s steady upward climb in value.

Historically, gold has shown extended up cycles and down cycles. The precious metal was in a growth phase from 2009 to 2011. It then trended down, failing to set a new high for nine years.

In those lackluster years for gold, your position will negatively impact your overall investment returns. If that feels problematic, a lower allocation percentage is more appropriate. On the other hand, you may be willing to accept gold’s underperforming years so you can benefit more in the good years. In this case, you can target a higher percentage.

The precious metal has been in the news lately, and many analysts are bullish on gold. In May, Goldman Sachs Research predicted gold would reach $3,700 a troy ounce by year-end 2025. That would equate to a 40% increase for the year, based on gold’s January 2 opening price of $2,633. Rising demand from central banks, along with uncertainty related to changing U.S. tariff policy, are the factors driving the increase.

If you are interested in learning more about gold’s historical value, Yahoo Finance has been tracking the historical price of gold since 2000.