30-year mortgage rate, term by term
Every term lined up from its inauguration. Context is everything: compare the start of a term with the trend it inherited and with what was happening in the world (recessions, pandemics), all of which are on the full 30-year mortgage rate chart.
Of the 8 completed terms with data, the average 30-year mortgage rate rose fastest under Jimmy Carter, at +1.50 pts/yr against +0.34 pts/yr in the four years before, and fell fastest under George H. W. Bush, at −0.60 pts/yr against −0.64 pts/yr in the four years before. So far under Donald Trump (2nd term), it has gone from 6.72% in Dec 2024 to 6.86% in Sep 2026.
Numbers
| President | During term | 4 years before |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump (2nd term) | 6.72% → 6.86% +0.08 pts/yr · through Sep 2026 | +1.01 pts/yr |
| Joe Biden | 2.68% → 6.72% +1.01 pts/yr | −0.38 pts/yr |
| Donald Trump (1st term) | 4.20% → 2.68% −0.38 pts/yr | +0.21 pts/yr |
| Barack Obama | 5.29% → 4.20% −0.14 pts/yr | −0.11 pts/yr |
| George W. Bush | 7.38% → 5.29% −0.26 pts/yr | −0.05 pts/yr |
| Bill Clinton | 8.21% → 7.38% −0.10 pts/yr | −0.60 pts/yr |
| George H. W. Bush | 10.61% → 8.21% −0.60 pts/yr | −0.64 pts/yr |
| Ronald Reagan | 14.79% → 10.61% −0.52 pts/yr | +1.50 pts/yr |
| Jimmy Carter | 8.79% → 14.79% +1.50 pts/yr | +0.34 pts/yr |