Share Editorial Independence We want to help you make more informed decisions. Some links on this page — clearly marked — may take you to a partner website and may result in us earning a referral commission. For more information, see Right now, mortgage interest rates are at historic lows—and people are lining up to take advantage by buying a home or refinancing an existing home loan. But a lower mortgage rate doesn’t always equate to a better deal. In a hot market where transactions are unfolding quickly, you need to also consider the loan’s APR, which takes into account upfront fees and other costs, experts say.