The 30-year mortgage rate in the United States averaged 7.28% in the week to 1 October 2026, its highest reading since November 2023. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the rate 0.25 percentage points above the previous week’s 7.03%. Refinance applications are now 56% below where they stood a year ago.
What Freddie Mac’s Survey Said on 1 October 2026
As of 1 October 2026, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the United States stands at 7.28%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey, published that day at midday Eastern Time. The 15-year fixed-rate average rose to 6.60% from 6.42%.
Both figures are well above where they sat a year earlier. On 1 October 2025 the 30-year average was 6.34% and the 15-year was 5.55%. Freddie Mac, the United States government-sponsored enterprise that buys mortgages from lenders and resells them as securities, has run the Primary Mortgage Market Survey weekly since 1971 and publishes it each Thursday.
The 7.28% reading is the highest Freddie Mac has recorded since 22 November 2023, when the 30-year average was 7.29%. This week’s figure therefore sits 0.01 percentage points below that mark rather than above it. Over the past 52 weeks the survey has ranged from 5.98% to 7.28%.
Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in the release that “with mortgage rates on their current trajectory, the housing market continues to be supported by favorable economic conditions.” The release did not forecast a direction for the weeks ahead.
| Survey week | 30-year fixed | 15-year fixed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 | 7.28% | 6.60% |
| 24 September 2026 | 7.03% | 6.42% |
| 17 September 2026 | 6.95% | 6.26% |
| 10 September 2026 | 6.76% | 6.09% |
| 3 September 2026 | 6.71% | 6.04% |
Readings are from Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey as compiled by Mortgage News Daily. The 0.25-point weekly move to 1 October is the largest in that five-week run; the four weeks before it moved by 0.08, 0.19, 0.05 and 0.05 points.
Why 7.28% Is Not the Rate Most Borrowers Are Quoted
The survey figure is a weekly average, not a live quote, and most borrowers in the first days of October were seeing higher numbers. Freddie Mac’s survey measures conventional, conforming purchase mortgages offered to borrowers with strong credit who put down a substantial deposit, and it reflects quotes gathered over the course of the week rather than the moment of publication.
Daily trackers moved further. Mortgage News Daily’s daily 30-year fixed index stood at 7.57% on 2 October 2026, up 0.03 points on the day and 0.29 points above the Freddie Mac reading published the previous afternoon. Yahoo Finance’s rate page, also dated 1 October 2026, listed a 30-year refinance rate of 7.40%, higher than its purchase figure, which is the usual relationship between the two.
Individual quotes vary more than the gap between those indices. Hannah Jones, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told Fox Business that credit scores, deposit size and lender choice create variations of nearly one percentage point between borrowers in the same week. An average across the market is not what any single applicant is offered, and the quoted rate also depends on loan size, property type and whether points are paid up front.
All of the figures above apply to the United States only. They say nothing about rates in the United Kingdom, the eurozone, India or anywhere else, where mortgage pricing follows different benchmarks and different lending rules.
What Pushed the Rate Up for Six Straight Weeks
Mortgage pricing in the United States tracks long-dated government borrowing costs, and those have climbed. Fox Business reported the 10-year Treasury yield hovering around 5.23% on the afternoon of 1 October 2026; The Mortgage Reports, citing Yahoo Finance data the same day, put it at 5.293%. Readings in the 5.2% to 5.3% range are the highest in years, and the 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.47% on 24 September 2026.
Behind the yields is monetary policy. The Federal Reserve, the United States central bank, raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point on 16 September 2026 to a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%, its first increase in more than three years, on a unanimous 12-0 vote. Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation is “too high and has been for too long” and that “this summer’s inflation readings do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved.”
The Federal Reserve does not set mortgage rates. Its decisions move the short-term rate banks charge each other overnight, which in turn influences the Treasury yields that mortgage pricing follows. The effect is indirect, which is why the two can move by different amounts.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, the United States trade body for the mortgage lending industry, tracks its own contract rate from lender application data. That measure rose for a sixth consecutive week in the week ending 25 September 2026, reaching 7.3% from 7.12%. Freddie Mac’s survey had read 6.95% in mid-September.
How Borrowers Responded
Application volumes fell sharply as the rate climbed. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey for the week ending 25 September 2026, released on 30 September, recorded a 6% drop in total mortgage applications from the week before.
- Purchase applications: Down 4% week on week on a seasonally adjusted basis, and down 5% unadjusted.
- Refinance applications: Down 9% week on week, and 56% lower than the same week in 2025.
- Weekly pace: Both purchase and refinance activity fell to their slowest weekly pace since 2025.
Joel Kan, the association’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in the release that “mortgage rates jumped to their highest level in almost three years, pushing borrowers to the sidelines.”
Jones of Realtor.com told Fox Business that the rise over the past year has added more than $200 to the monthly principal and interest payment on a median-priced home, even though median prices have fallen year on year. That estimate comes from a single outlet and Realtor.com has not published the underlying calculation alongside it.
What Is Scheduled Next
Two dates will set the next readings. Freddie Mac publishes its survey every Thursday, so the next 30-year figure is due on 8 October 2026. The Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve panel that sets the benchmark rate, meets on 27 and 28 October 2026 and announces its decision at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on 28 October, with a further meeting on 8 and 9 December.
Neither Freddie Mac nor the Mortgage Bankers Association has published a forecast for where the 30-year rate goes from here. Market pricing reported after the September meeting implied one further quarter-point increase in 2026, but that is an expectation drawn from traded instruments, not a decision the committee has taken.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the 30-Year Mortgage Rate Right Now?
Freddie Mac’s survey published on 1 October 2026 put the United States 30-year fixed average at 7.28%, up from 7.03% a week earlier. Mortgage News Daily’s daily index read 7.57% on 2 October 2026.
Is 7.28% the Highest the 30-Year Mortgage Rate Has Been?
No. It is the highest in Freddie Mac’s survey since 22 November 2023, when the average was 7.29%, so it remains 0.01 percentage points below that reading. The survey’s 52-week range runs from 5.98% to 7.28%.
Why Did Mortgage Rates Rise in Late September 2026?
Long-dated Treasury yields climbed into the 5.2% to 5.3% range after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate on 16 September 2026 and signalled continued concern about inflation. Mortgage pricing in the United States follows those yields rather than the Federal Reserve’s own rate.
Does the Freddie Mac Average Mean a Borrower Will Be Offered 7.28%?
No. It is a weekly average for conventional conforming purchase loans made to borrowers with strong credit and a substantial deposit. Realtor.com’s senior economist put the spread between borrowers in a given week at close to one percentage point, and lenders publish their own current pricing.
When Is the Next Mortgage Rate Reading Published?
Freddie Mac releases the Primary Mortgage Market Survey each Thursday, making 8 October 2026 the next scheduled United States reading. The Mortgage Bankers Association publishes its application survey each Wednesday.
