rewrite this title Mortgage Rates Today, Thursday, March 5: Back Under 6% – NerdWallet

After tipping over 6% yesterday, mortgage rates are back in the fives.

The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 5.91% APR, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. This is 14 basis points lower than yesterday and two basis points lower than a week ago. (See our chart below for more specifics.) A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Borrowers who shop around with at least two to four different lenders can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year, according to Freddie Mac. Especially when rates are volatile, comparing lender quotes will help you find the best combination of low rates and fees.

This week has been packed with employment data, capped off with February’s jobs report tomorrow. If the labor market’s looking weak, mortgage rates could fall as markets increase the odds of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve at central bankers’ next meeting on March 17-18.

Payroll processor ADP released its private sector employment report yesterday, which showed that private employers added 63,000 jobs in February, once again concentrated mostly in education and healthcare.

“Ideally, job gains should be happening across the whole of the labor market,” writes Elizabeth Renter, NerdWallet Senior Economist.

“When they are concentrated in just a few sectors, only those workers get the potential benefit of expansion. It’s far easier for folks in the healthcare industry to find a better paying job right now than it is for someone in most other fields.”

As of this morning, the vast majority of analysts are predicting that the Fed will vote to leave the overnight borrowing rate unchanged.

Refinancing might make sense if today’s rates are at least 0.5 to 0.75 of a percentage point lower than your current rate (and if you plan to stay in your home long enough to break even on closing costs).

With rates where they are right now, you may want to start considering a refi if your current rate is around 6.41% or higher.

There is no universal “right” time to start shopping — what matters is whether you can comfortably afford a mortgage now at today’s rates.

Rate locks protect you from increases while your loan is processed, and with the market forever bouncing around, that peace of mind can be worth it.

In addition to market factors outside of your control, your customized quote depends on your:

Even two people with similar credit scores might get different rates, depending on their overall financial profiles.

Maybe — but even personalized rate quotes can change until you lock. That’s because lenders adjust pricing multiple times a day in response to market changes.