The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans was 6.35% for the week ending Sept. 11, down from 6.5% the previous week and an 11-month low.

Mortgage rates have been falling, spurring some refinances. As the Federal Reserve gets set to deliver a rate cut, will it help the housing market?

Loan estimates are disclosures provided by lenders to supply the details of your quote: the interest rate and estimated payment, loan term, if the rate is fixed or adjustable, loan fees, and other charges. They also indicate if your rate is locked and point out risky features, like balloon payments.

Assuming a 3.5% down payment and excluding tax and insurance, the typical payment at today’s 6.35% mortgage rate on a median-priced $429,990 home is roughly $2,547 per month. Last week, a median-priced home at a 6.5% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,585 per month—$38 more than what buyers would pay today.

When you get a fixed-rate mortgage, it's like buying insurance against inflation, and you're paying for that insurance over the whole life of the mortgage,” one expert told us.

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It’s possible to land a mortgage in the mid-5% range instead of 6.5%. But the tradeoff is steep: much higher payments that can stretch your budget.

After months of sitting out a sluggish housing market, would-be buyers may finally have a reason to jump in: Borrowing rates are tumbling.