THE FIELD GUIDE · MORTGAGE PLANNING
A national rate is a starting point
Use the benchmark for context, then compare an offer built for you.
What PMMS measures
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey provides national mortgage market benchmarks. These are survey averages for a defined conventional mortgage population. They are not a city-specific rate sheet, a personal offer or an APR.
Read the observation date
A page can be viewed today while its latest available observation is older. Our rate desk displays the effective date separately from the import time. A delayed feed does not become current merely because a page reloads.
Your quote depends on more
A lender may consider credit, loan size, loan-to-value, property type, occupancy, product, points, rate lock and other underwriting factors. Do not add an invented city premium to a national survey to create local rates.
Use rates as scenario inputs
You can copy a dated benchmark into a calculator deliberately. Keep a separate scenario using your actual lender estimate. A benchmark trend and a quote comparison answer different questions.
This guide is educational. Confirm the figures and conditions for your actual loan.
Official consumer or market guidance ↗