The median interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.50% as of October 17, which is unchanged from yesterday. Additionally, the median interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.75%, which is also unchanged from yesterday.

As of Oct. 17, according to Credible data gathered from more than 500 U.S. lenders*, the median interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.50%, which is unchanged from yesterday. Additionally, the median interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.75%, which is also unchanged from yesterday.

Refinance rates on 30-year mortgages subtracted 6 basis points for a second consecutive day Wednesday, reducing the national average to 6.71%. That lowers it from a recent two-month high, but it remains 70 basis points above the 19-month low we saw Sept. 16—when the average sank to 6.01%.

These are today's mortgage and refinance rates. Mortgage rates have eased this week, but we might not see them drop substantially until next year.

Meanwhile, for the week ending June 12, the number of refinancing applications jumped 10 percent compared to the previous week—nearly doubling the number of applications filed during the same week last year, according to data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance loans made up 63 percent of all mortgage applications that week.