Physician Mortgage Rates vs Conventional Rates

The benchmark everything is measured against is Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the weekly national average for conventional conforming loans to borrowers with strong credit and 20 percent down. For the survey week of October 1, 2026, the 30 year fixed averaged 7.28 percent and the 15 year fixed 6.60 percent, per MedMoneyGuide's weekly rate page, which pulls the Freddie Mac data via FRED.

A physician loan quote in that environment would typically land between roughly 7.4 and 7.78 percent for a 30 year fixed, adding the 0.125 to 0.5 percent premium to the benchmark. Other published estimates agree on the range: PhysicianLiving prices the premium at 0.125 to 0.50 percent above conventional, and Student Loan Planner states directly that physician loan rates usually run higher than conventional loans with 20 percent down.

Two warnings about these numbers. First, the benchmark moves. Freddie Mac's average was 6.53 percent in late May 2026 and 7.03 percent in late September 2026 before reaching 7.28 percent in early October. The physician loan premium floats on top of a moving base, so any specific spread quoted without a date is stale on arrival. Second, no lender publishes physician loan rates. MedMoneyGuide's 2026 review of seven major physician lenders found that not one of them publishes its physician loan pricing. The spread is a market pattern, not a price list. Your quote is your quote.

The right comparison is not physician loan versus conventional with 20 percent down. If you have 20 percent down, the conventional loan wins on rate and there is no PMI to avoid. The product was never competing for that borrower.

The right comparison is physician loan versus conventional with a small down payment, where PMI applies. Run it:

A $650,000 physician loan at 7.58 percent (the 7.28 benchmark plus a 0.30 premium) costs about $133 more per month than the same loan at the 7.28 benchmark rate. That is the monthly price of the premium, computed from the published range.

A comparable conventional loan with 5 percent down carries PMI of roughly $200 to $466 per month, per MedMoneyGuide's worked example, inside the Urban Institute's 0.46 to 1.50 percent of loan amount annual range. And that PMI lasts until the loan hits 80 percent of the original value, about 11 years in their example, totaling $26,000 to $61,000.

MedMoneyGuide states the equivalence directly: PMI of $200 to $466 a month is worth roughly 0.44 to 1.02 points of rate. The physician loan's 0.125 to 0.5 point premium sits below that range at every point. The premium is cheaper than the insurance it replaces, and unlike PMI it buys you something: the ability to keep your down payment money in your pocket.

Put in monthly terms on a $650,000 loan: the premium costs $55 to $223 a month across the published range. PMI costs $200 to $466 a month. The premium wins unless your quote lands far above the typical range, which is exactly why you get three quotes.

Because no lender publishes physician loan rates, the comparison has to be built by hand, in the same week, from written quotes. MedMoneyGuide's standing advice: get quotes from at least three physician lenders in the same week and compare APR, which includes fees, not the headline rate alone. Add a conventional quote to the set if you have any down payment at all, so the PMI math is visible side by side.

The question to answer is not "what is the physician loan rate." It is "what is my total monthly cost, and my total cash to close, on each path, this week." The premium is a range, the benchmark moves weekly, and your credit file is your credit file. Three quotes, one week, APR to APR. That is the whole methodology.