Real Estate

US Mortgage Rates Fall to Lowest Level in More Than Three Years

Housing Starts Rise to Five-Month High in Broad Increase

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By Prashant Gopal

February 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM UTC

US mortgage rates fell to the lowest level since September 2022 as affordability slowly improves.

The average for 30-year, fixed loans was 6.01%, down from 6.09% last week, data from Freddie Mac showed Thursday. By comparison, the rate was 6.85% a year ago.