rewrite this title Mortgage Rates Today, Thursday, July 2: Kind of a Big Jump – NerdWallet

If you’re here looking for lower mortgage interest rates, today is definitely not your day.

The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.40% APR, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. This is 12 basis points higher than yesterday and 15 basis points higher than a week ago. (See our chart below for more specifics.) A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.

While rates have been bouncing around day-to-day, on the whole they’ve remained relatively steady; the average 30-year mortgage rate in June was 6.34%, basically identical to May’s average of 6.35%.

While the economy never sleeps, it is made up of real people, many of whom will be enjoying fireworks and hot dogs over the next few days. Markets are closed tomorrow, so the mortgage Nerds won’t be publishing a new daily rates analysis until Monday. Happy 4th of July!

🤓 Kate on Rates: June 25, 2026

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest jobs report this morning, showing that job gains came in notably below projections last month (57k, compared to an anticipated 115k).

This reverses course from the previous three jobs reports, which had come in stronger than expected. If the June report had also registered above expectations, there would be a stronger case for the Federal Reserve to consider raising the federal funds rate at its meeting at the end of the month. After all, when employment is especially strong, it gives central bankers license to shift focus to inflation. Last week, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure (the Personal Consumption Expenditures index) showed that inflation was running at 4.1%, its hottest level in three years.

Now, the Fed might be more likely to hold rates steady for another meeting, and wait to consider a rate hike until at least September.

Next week, the Nerds will be watching the June Existing Home Sales report from the National Association of Realtors. This report, which drops on July 9, should give us a temperature check on the current homebuying landscape.

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 6.90% 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.

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About the author

Taylor Getler is a home and mortgages writer for NerdWallet. Her work has been featured in outlets such as MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, MSN and Nasdaq. Taylor is enthusiastic about financial literacy and helping consumers make smart, informed choices with their money.