Compare current 10-year mortgage rates

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Bankrate has been the authority in personal finance since it was founded in 1976 as the “Bank Rate Monitor,” a print publication for the banking industry. Bankrate has been surveying and collecting mortgage rate information from the nation’s largest lenders for more than 30 years. Hundreds of top publications, such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNBC and others, depend on Bankrate as a trusted source of financial information, so you know you’re getting information you can trust.

How Bankrate mortgage rates are calculated

Lenders nationwide provide weekday mortgage rates to our comprehensive national survey to bring you the most current rates available. Here you can see the latest marketplace average rates for a wide variety of purchase loans. The interest rate table below is updated daily to give you the most current purchase rates when choosing a home loan. APRs and rates are based on no existing relationship or automatic payments. For these averages, the customer profile includes a 740 FICO score and a single-family residence. To learn more, see understanding Bankrate rate averages.

What is a 10-year mortgage?

“A 10-year fixed mortgage is just a 10-year amortization,” says Silverton Mortgage President Josh Moffitt, whose company is based in Atlanta. “Your rate payment is done over 10 years, as opposed to many traditional mortgages which are paid over 30 years. By shortening the term it's a massive amount of savings because you're putting 20 years of interest away.”

For the buyer who wants to pay off their mortgage quickly while reducing how much total interest they pay, the 10-year mortgage offers a way to do just that. To find out if a 10-year mortgage is right for you, do the math using theBankrate Mortgage Calculator.

Get the latest interest rates for 10-year fixed-rate mortgages. Be sure to check back regularly, as rates change. The great news for borrowers is that mortgage rates have never been lower and rates on 10-year loans tend to be even lower than those for the more common 30-year mortgage.

Why choose a 10-year mortgage?

The biggest advantage to a 10-year mortgage: You'll avoid paying the interest that comes with a longer loan like a 15- or 30-year mortgage. Over the course of three decades, you pay much more interest than you would over a single 10-year period. Your interest rate on a 10-year will generally be lower than the rates on comparable longer-term mortgages as well.

Alternatives of 10-year mortgages

While paying off your mortgage in 10 years sounds great, it’s not always a feasible plan for everyone. Shorter-term loans come with higher monthly payments, which can put a strain on finances. Also, depending on a number of factors like your income and other debts, you may not be able to qualify for a 10-year mortgage if you don’t meet the lender’s requirements.

If that’s the case, you can still pay off your loan in less time if you’re very disciplined about your finances, by making extra payments, or contributing more than the monthly minimum to your mortgage when you pay. Bankrate offers a number of strategies for mortgage repayment.

You can also start off with a longer-term mortgage, and refinance to a shorter-term one when your budget allows.

Comparing a 10-year loan term to other loan terms

Generally, the shorter the loan term, the lower the interest rate. The downside of loans with shorter terms is that the monthly payments are bigger. There are arguements for and against 10-year loans. The pros are that you will end up paying less in interest and your mortgage will be paid off sooner than with longer loans. The con: Your monthly mortgage payment will be significantly larger than if you had a longer-term loan.

Compare current mortgage interest rates today to find out how much you can save by going with a shorter loan. Once you crunch the numbers, you might find that it’s worth it to pay more each month to save on the total loan’s interest costs.

Here are three loan scenarios that show monthly payments vs. total cost on $300,000 mortgages with interest rates that reflect loan type (remember, shorter loans have lower rates):

Advantages and disadvantages of a 10-year loan term

A 10-year mortgage isn’t for everyone. Few people have the financial resources to repay a loan so quickly. But there are decided advantages along with the disadvantages:

Advantages:

• Lower interest rates compared to loans with longer terms
• Mortgage is paid off much sooner
• Less interest paid over the life of your loan
• Build equity faster

Disadvantages:

• Much larger monthly payments compared to loans with longer terms
• Cash is tied up in your house and not readily available to you
• Can’t make lower monthly payments without refinancing

10-year fixed loan vs. ARM loan

Both the 10-year fixed mortgage and the adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, typically have lower interest rates than their longer-term, fixed-interest counterparts. The main difference between them is that the 10-year fixed-rate mortgage has a locked interest rate while the ARM has a floating rate. It’s important to note that ARMs have a “fixed period” when the rate does not adjust. For example, in 5/1 ARMs, the interest rate stays the same for the first five years.

If you plan on selling within five years, you can compare the 5/1 ARM with a 10-year mortgage to see which one has the lower rate. But keep in mind that the typical ARM amortizes over 30 years, which means the payments will be much lower than a 10-year loan, even if it has a lower interest rate.

And at the end of five years, and assuming identical interest rates on the two loans, you’ll have paid down about 12 percent of the balance of the 5/1 30-year ARM, while with the 10-year fixed, you’ll have paid off nearly half the balance.

There are also 7/1 ARMs, which lock the rate for the first seven years. If you intend on staying longer then you might want to consider a 10-year fixed-rate loan.

How to find the best mortgage for you

Once you’ve decided which term is right for you, you’ll want to do your due diligence to find the best mortgage. Here are five kinds of mortgages to consider. You’ll want to do some research and compare mortgage rates from several entities, which could include traditional banks, online lenders and mortgage brokers. Prepare by reviewing your credit report to confirm it’s correct and have an idea of how much you can afford to pay each month.

The good news is that any time of year can be a good time to shop for a mortgage. “Mortgage rates are tied to the bond market, so there's not a good or bad season,” Moffitt explains. He adds that fees for a 10-year mortgage will be similar to those of other mortgages.

If you choose a mortgage with a longer repayment term and decide you want to pay it off faster — say in 10 years — calculate what your monthly payment would be if you had a 10-year mortgage rate and pay that amount each month. Be sure to instruct your lender to apply the extra funds to the principal. This is a good option for borrowers who want to pay aggressively but who don’t want to be locked into higher payments.

Other useful tools:

• Current mortgage interest rates: compare today's mortgage rates for various loan types
• 10-year refinance rates: lower your monthly payment with today's low refi rates
• Mortgage lender reviews: hear from other Bankrate consumers about their experience with local lenders