The latest Freddie Mac mortgage survey, released October 22, put the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.32%, down from 7.40% the previous week and up from 6.19% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. For the current figure and a running history, see our mortgage rates page.
What the Freddie Mac mortgage survey reported
The 15-year fixed-rate average was 6.68%, down from 6.71% a week earlier and up from 5.44% a year ago, per the same survey. Freddie Mac’s commentary on the week: “The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined this week, offering some relief to prospective homebuyers.”
The one-week drop is small. The year-over-year comparison is the bigger story: the 30-year rate is 1.13 percentage points above its level of a year ago, and the 15-year rate is 1.24 points higher, by our arithmetic from Freddie Mac’s figures. That gap matters more to a buyer than a weekly wobble.
What a rate near 7.3% means for a payment
As a rough illustration, not a quote, the principal-and-interest payment on a $400,000 30-year loan is about $2,748 a month at 7.32% and about $2,447 a month at 6.19%, a difference of roughly $300 a month before taxes and insurance. Those figures come from the standard fixed-rate payment formula, and an actual loan offer will differ with credit, down payment and fees. The Freddie Mac mortgage survey reflects an average of applications, not a rate any individual lender guarantees.
The weak demand side of the market shows up elsewhere. Our report on September’s record-low pending home sales reading covers how rates and prices are weighing on contracts, and the hot-inflation story lays out why mortgage quotes have been under pressure.
What to watch in the next Freddie Mac mortgage survey
Freddie Mac publishes the survey weekly, so a new reading is due after this one. Treasury yields, which mortgage pricing tends to follow, eased through late October, as in our look at Treasury yields before the Fed meeting, but this article does not forecast where mortgage rates go next. This is general information, not financial advice.
Editor’s take
Compare against a year ago, not last week. An 8-basis-point dip will not change a household budget; a 113-basis-point jump already has. For anyone shopping, the practical move is to get quotes from several lenders on the same day and look at the full cost, not only the headline rate. The Freddie Mac mortgage survey is a useful benchmark, but it is an average, and your own rate is the one that counts.
