The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.28% the week of Oct. 1, up from 7.03% the week before and 6.34% a year ago, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey. It is the sixth weekly increase in a row. On a $400,000 loan, the payment is about $344 a month higher than it was in late February.
What Freddie Mac Reported On Oct. 1
The 15-year fixed rate averaged 6.60%, up from 6.42% the week before and 5.55% a year earlier. The survey covers conventional, conforming, fully amortizing home purchase loans for borrowers who put 20% down and have excellent credit. Buyers with smaller down payments or lower credit scores usually pay more than the survey average.
Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in the release that “the housing market continues to be supported by favorable economic conditions.” The release did not break out which conditions he meant. Freddie Mac’s weekly archive shows how steady the climb has been. The 30-year rate was 6.66% on Aug. 27 and has risen every week since: 6.71% on Sept. 3, 6.76% on Sept. 10, 6.95% on Sept. 17, 7.03% on Sept. 24 and 7.28% on Oct. 1. That is 0.62 percentage point in six weeks.
The 7.28% reading is the highest weekly figure in the archive for 2026. The 2026 weekly readings began at 6.16% on Jan. 8, fell to 5.98% on Feb. 26 and have not been below 6.2% since midMarch. The 15-year rate shows the same path, from 5.35% on Feb. 19 to 6.60% now, a gain of 1.25 percentage points. The previous high for the year was 6.69% on Aug. 6.
The monthly Cost On a $400,000 Loan
Freddie Mac does not publish payment figures, so Onsite! ran the standard 30-year amortization formula on a $400,000 loan, which is the loan size for a $500,000 home with 20% down. The inputs are Freddie Mac’s published weekly rates from the archive.
- At 5.98%, the 2026 low, set Feb. 26: $2,393 a month in principal and interest.
- At 6.34%, the Oct. 1 rate a year ago: $2,486 a month.
- At 6.71%, the Sept. 3 rate: $2,584 a month.
- At 7.28%, the Oct. 1 rate: $2,737 a month.
The difference between February and now is $344 a month, or $4,125 a year, which is about $11 a day. The difference from a year ago is $251 a month. The gain since Sept. 3 is $153 a month, which works out to about $38 more per month for each of the four weekly surveys since then.
Over the full 30 years, the interest on that loan comes to about $585,266 at 7.28% and about $461,502 at 5.98%. The gap is roughly $123,764, assuming the borrower keeps the loan to term and makes no extra payments. Most borrowers sell or refinance before then, so the gap is a ceiling for a borrower who stays put.
The 15-year loan carries a lower rate but a much higher payment. At 6.60%, a $400,000 15-year loan costs about $3,506 a month, which is $769 more than the 30-year payment at 7.28%.
Why Mortgage Rates Rose More Than the Fed
The Federal Reserve raised its target range by a quarter point on Sept. 16 in a 12-0 vote, to 3.75% to 4%. The statement said “inflation remains elevated.” The Fed’s H.15 data release shows the effective federal funds rate at 3.88% on Oct. 6.
Mortgage rates have moved by more than twice that. The 30-year average stood at 6.76% on Sept. 10, the survey week before the Fed met. It is now 7.28%, a gain of 0.52 percentage point against a Fed move of 0.25. The Fed controls a short-term rate. Mortgage lenders price off longer-term bond yields, and those yields have been rising on their own.
The same H.15 release shows the 10-year Treasury yield at 5.29% on Sept. 30, 5.24% on Oct. 1, 5.28% on Oct. 2, 5.31% on Oct. 5 and 5.27% on Oct. 6. The 2-year yield was 4.88% on Sept. 30, according to the Fed.
Onsite! compared the Oct. 1 numbers. The 30-year mortgage rate of 7.28% sat 2.04 percentage points above the 10-year yield of 5.24% that day. The 15-year rate of 6.60% sat 1.36 points above it. With the 10-year yield above 5%, a gap of about 2 points puts the 30-year mortgage rate above 7%. The Fed’s meeting calendar lists the next meeting for Oct. 27 and 28.
What Each Tenth of a Point Costs a Borrower
The arithmetic shows how small moves add up. Near the current rate, each 0.1 percentage point on a $400,000 loan changes the monthly payment by about $27. A move back to the 6.34% of a year ago would save $251 a month on this loan. The rate has risen in each of the last six weekly surveys.
The 30-year rate sat 3.41 percentage points above the midpoint of the Fed’s 3.75% to 4% range on Oct. 1 (7.28 minus 3.875). The Fed raised its range by 0.25 point on Sept. 16, and the mortgage rate has risen 0.52 point since the survey week before that meeting.
