A new Realtor.com analysis of mortgage originations shows that borrowers can play a bigger role in shaping their own costs than many may realize, even in today’s environment with mortgage rates still over the 6%-mark.
In Q3 of 2024, when the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 6.60%, borrowers with stronger lending profiles secured rates as low as 6.25%, while others paid closer to 7.0% on their mortgage. On a $425,000 median-priced home with a 30-year FRM, borrowers at the low end of that range are projected to save more than $60,000 over the life of their mortgage, compared buyers at the high end.
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year FRM averaged 6.19% as of October 23, 2025, down from last week when it averaged 6.27%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.54%.
"After years of higher borrowing costs, even small rate improvements can open doors for more buyers," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. "While mortgage rates are expected to ease as the Fed cuts its policy rate, homebuyers who adjust the key factors that influence their individual borrowing costs can make the most of this or any moment."
Borrower Decisions Drive Savings
Certain borrowers could pay anywhere from $300-$3,300 more annually in interest than their peers with stronger credit, larger downpayments, or better-shopped loans. Differences of this nature can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in savings over the life of a typical 30-year mortgage.
However, as Realtor.com Senior Economist Jake Krimmel, notes, "Not all improvements have the same payoff."
Krimmel added, "The data show that hitting key thresholds, like moving from 'good' to 'very good' credit or putting 20% down, matters more than chasing perfection. Even modest adjustments in the right areas can shift a buyer's rate enough to save tens of thousands over the life of a loan."
It All Starts With Comparing Shopping
Shopping and negotiating across lenders is not just one of the easiest ways for buyers to influence their rate — it is also the most powerful. Among all factors studied, lender choice offered the greatest potential rate savings, with rates differing by up to 0.55 percentage points between the most and least expensive options. That gap is larger than the typical difference between "good" and "excellent" credit scores or between small and large downpayments.
For example, a buyer putting 20% down on a $425,000 median-priced home, with a 6.05% mortgage rate versus a 6.6% mortgage rate (a 0.55-point spread) equates to $122 in monthly savings, $1,464 in annual savings, and $43,929 over the life of the loan.
Milestones Yield Savings
When it comes to credit, the most meaningful improvement came not from exceeding the 760 mark, but from raising credit scores from "Good" (660-720) to "Very Good" (720-760), which yielded an average 0.11-percentage-point discount. This earns borrowers savings of $24 pr month; $288 annually; and $8e,735 over the life of the loan.
Realtor.com found that downpayments can have a much larger impact, as exceeding the 20% downpayment threshold produced more than twice the rate benefit of smaller downpayment increases. For the same median-priced home, moving from a 10% downpayment to a 20% downpayment not only reduced the loan amount, but also improves the rate by an average of 0.09 basis points. Together, those factors can add up to approximately $281 in monthly savings; $3,372 in annual savings; and $101,355 in savings over the life of the loan.
"Even in a challenging homebuying market with sustained high mortgage rates, there's room for strategy," Krimmel said. "Focusing on what you can control — improving credit, saving more, and comparing offers — can make a measurable difference in affordability."
