Real Estate News
A new analysis from LendingTree shows there’s some relief for Bay State borrowers.
After years of surging borrowing costs, mortgage rates are finally inching down, and the savings are meaningful for Massachusetts homebuyers.
A new analysis from LendingTree found that Bay State borrowers saw the second-largest decrease in monthly mortgage payments in the country between July 2024 and July 2025, trailing only Washington. D.C.
The average annual percentage rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in Massachusetts dropped by roughly three-quarters of a percentage point during that period, from 7.31 percent to 6.59 percent, according to the report. That decline translates to a $210.42 drop in the typical monthly payment and about $75,752.61 in savings over the life of a 30-year loan.
This can be the kind of relief that can make or break a home purchase in one of the nation’s priciest housing markets and brighten one’s overall financial footing, experts say.
“These savings are big,” Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer-finance analyst, said in the company’s report. “Rate declines not only can help make homeownership more attainable, but they also can help consumers balance their financial goals.”
The improvement follows a series of Federal Reserve rate cuts that began last fall. Nationally, the average mortgage rate dropped by about half a percentage point over the past year, potentially saving borrowers more than $40,000 over a loan’s lifetime, Lending Tree details.
The easing hasn’t entirely thawed the region’s inventory crunch. As the Globe reported last year, many Massachusetts homeowners are locked in by the ultra-low mortgage rates they secured during the pandemic. Roughly three quarters of borrowers nationwide last year carried loans under 4 percent, making it hard to justify selling and taking on a new mortgage that is significantly higher.
Fresh data from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors suggests that while buyers are still competing fiercely, they may be regaining some leverage.
In August, the median price of a single-family home in Greater Boston fell to $935,000, down 3.1 percent from July and below the $1 million mark reached earlier this summer. Prices remain 2 percent higher than a year ago, but it was the first time this year that the median sale price dipped slightly below the original listing price.
“For the first time this year, the median price a single-family property sold for was less than it was originally listed for, but barely,” Mark Triglione, GBAR president and owner of Premier Realty Group in Reading, said in a statement. “Buyers that know their market and are well prepared have opportunities that simply haven’t existed in recent history.”
Active inventory of single-family homes was up 17 percent from last August, and condo listings rose 24 percent year over year, according to the GBAR report — a modest but encouraging uptick after years of historic scarcity.
With 30-year fixed mortgage rates dropping further to 6.35 percent in mid-September, the lowest level since October 2024, Triglione said the fall market could remain active longer than usual.
“The recent rate news will very likely provide some welcome stimulation to buyer activity,” he said.
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