The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.28 percent in the week of Oct. 1, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed, up from 7.03 percent the week before and 6.34 percent a year earlier. The 15-year rate averaged 6.60 percent, against 5.55 percent a year ago.
The 30-year reading was the highest since Nov. 22, 2023, when it stood at 7.29 percent, Fox Business reported. The 25 basis point rise in a single week was the largest since October 2022, according to Realtor.com.
The rate has climbed most of the year. It bottomed at 5.98 percent in the week of Feb. 26 and has risen 1.30 percentage points since, nearly half of that in the five weeks since late August.
Freddie Mac 30-year fixed rate, selected weeks of 2026
Why rates jumped
Mortgage rates follow long-term Treasury yields more closely than the Federal Reserve’s policy rate, and both moved in September. On Sept. 16 the Fed raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent, its first increase since 2023, in a move CNBC described as aimed at inflation brought on by spiraling oil prices and other factors. The 10-year Treasury yield was near 5.23 percent on the afternoon of Oct. 1, according to Fox Business, and Realtor.com said it had reached its highest level in roughly 20 years.
Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones wrote that rates would likely ease “if oil prices retreat, inflation keeps cooling, or labor market data softens enough to strengthen expectations for Fed rate cuts.” The September jobs report, released Oct. 2, showed payrolls up 29,000, far short of forecasts, Realtor.com reported.
What the rise does to a payment
Freddie Mac’s survey covers conventional loans within the conforming limits, for borrowers putting 20 percent down. We applied its rates to a loan for 80 percent of NAR’s August median existing-home price of $429,100.
| 30-year rate | When | Monthly principal and interest on $343,280 |
|---|---|---|
| 5.98% | Week of Feb. 26, 2026 | $2,054 |
| 6.34% | A year ago | $2,134 |
| 6.67% | August average, per NAR | $2,208 |
| 7.28% | Week of Oct. 1, 2026 | $2,349 |
Standard 30-year amortization arithmetic on Freddie Mac rates. Principal and interest only, not a loan quote. Taxes and insurance are extra.
Against a year ago, the payment is $215 a month higher, in line with Realtor.com’s estimate of “more than $200.” Put the other way, the $2,134 payment that carried a $343,280 loan a year ago carries about $311,900 at 7.28 percent, roughly 9 percent less. That is arithmetic on the survey average, not a forecast. Actual rates vary by borrower, and Jones said most borrowers’ rates span “nearly a full percentage point depending on their credit score, down payment, and choice of lender.”
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What sellers are seeing
The rate rise reached listings quickly. In September, 20.8 percent of homes for sale had a price cut, the highest share for any month since October 2022, and the number of homes under contract was 4.1 percent lower than a year earlier, according to Realtor.com. Its economists estimated that the rise from 6.66 percent in late August to 7.03 percent on Sept. 24 took roughly $11,500 off the budget of a buyer on a fixed monthly payment.
Higher rates also weigh on owners who might sell. Federal Housing Finance Agency data show that 49.1 percent of outstanding mortgages carried a rate below 4 percent in the second quarter of 2026, and our Seller’s Desk brief on giving up a low rate works through that trade.
What to watch
Freddie Mac publishes its survey each Thursday at noon Eastern. NAR releases September existing-home sales on Oct. 13 and September pending sales on Oct. 20, the first readings to capture contracts signed after rates passed 7 percent. Realtor.com noted that over a six-month window rates have typically stayed within 75 basis points of their starting level, a range it suggested buyers use to test their budgets. For Westport prices, where most purchases need jumbo loans priced outside the survey, see our local rate math.
Sources
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Oct. 1, 2026
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States, series MORTGAGE30US, retrieved Oct. 5, 2026
- Fox Business, Mortgage rates surge to highest level since 2023 as bond yields spike, Oct. 1, 2026
- Realtor.com, Mortgage Rates Jump to Highest Level in Nearly Three Years, Oct. 1, 2026
- CNBC, Fed approves interest rate hike, signals one more to come this year, Sept. 16, 2026
- Realtor.com, September Jobs Report, Payrolls Miss Big, and the Housing Squeeze Continues, Oct. 2, 2026
- Realtor.com, September 2026 Monthly Housing Trends, Sept. 30, 2026
- National Association of Realtors, NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 2.0% Decrease in August, Sept. 10, 2026
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, National Mortgage Database, outstanding residential mortgage statistics, September 2026
