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Average prime offer rate (APOR): what it means

The average prime offer rate (APOR) is a benchmark annual percentage rate (APR). It is derived from the interest rates, points and other terms that a representative sample of lenders is currently offering on low-risk mortgage loans.

In Spanish it is

Tasa promedio de oferta preferencial (APOR)

Also written as: APOR

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Verified on October 17, 2026

2 official sources

See the whole dictionary

The full explanation

The CFPB describes it as an estimate of the rate people with good credit typically pay for a similar mortgage, and publishes it in a table updated at least weekly. Federal rules compare your loan's APR with the APOR to decide whether it is a higher-priced loan or a high-cost mortgage.

An example

Andrés is offered a mortgage whose APR is well above the APOR for a similar loan. That is why federal rules treat it as a higher-priced loan.

You will see it in…

Federal mortgage rules (Regulation Z)
The rate tables the CFPB publishes
Explanations of why a loan is higher-priced or high-cost

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School) · 12 CFR § 1026.35(a)(2): average prime offer rate (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
2. CFPB · What the new high-cost mortgage protections mean for consumers (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026