These are today's mortgage and refinance rates. Mortgage rates have eased this week, but we won't see them fall substantially until inflation slows further.

"I expect mortgage rates to stay around 6.875% to 7.125% in December," says Aaron Gordon, a branch manager and senior mortgage loan officer at Guild Mortgage. "We won't likely see big moves downward until we see unemployment go up, less government spending or the Fed jump back into the mortgage market."

Falling mortgage rates are expected to kickstart home-buying demand. But buyers will still have to contend with home prices that soared to record highs this year. Here’s what ex

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet December 17 and 18 and, if they change the benchmark rate, this will affect the costs at which banks access credit. This change can indirectly impact consumer loan costs. Fed rate cuts also drive changes in financial indexes used to set variable HELOC rates.

Today, the mortgage interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 7.16%, according to Curinos. On a 15-year fixed mortgage, the average rate is 6.30%, and the average rate on a 30-year jumbo mortgage is 7.