Mortgage Rates Hold at 7.40% — Week of Oct 15, 2026

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.40% in the week ending October 15, 2026, unchanged from 7.40% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

A year earlier, the 30-year rate stood at 6.27%, so borrowers today are paying roughly 1.13 percentage points more than they would have then.

The 15-year fixed rate, popular with homeowners who refinance, averaged 6.71%. Shorter loans carry lower rates but higher monthly payments because the balance is repaid twice as fast.

30-year fixed, recent weeks

• Oct 15, 2026: 7.40%
• Oct 8, 2026: 7.40%
• Oct 1, 2026: 7.28%
• Sep 24, 2026: 7.03%
• Sep 17, 2026: 6.95%
• Sep 10, 2026: 6.76%

Week-to-week moves of a few hundredths of a point are normal; changes of a quarter point or more over a month are what tend to change buyers’ decisions.

What it means in dollars: on a $400,000 loan, a 7.40% rate works out to a principal-and-interest payment of about $2,770 a month. At last year’s 6.27%, the same loan would have cost about $2,468 — a difference of $301 a month, or about $3,617 over a full year.

Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury yield more closely than the Federal Reserve’s policy rate. The 10-year was most recently at 4.96%, and the effective federal funds rate at 3.75%. When the 10-year rises on stronger economic data or inflation worries, mortgage rates usually follow.

Borrowers can often beat the average. Lenders price loans on credit score, down payment and debt-to-income ratio, so improving any of those can lower the rate offered. Comparing quotes from several lenders on the same day — and asking whether a quote includes discount points — is the simplest way to see the real cost.

Freddie Mac’s figures are national averages for borrowers with strong credit and a 20% down payment; the rate you are offered depends on your credit score, down payment, loan type and lender. Track the weekly trend on our mortgage rates page.

This report was generated by the NPJ Data Desk from official public data and contains no invented facts or quotes. How we use automation · Report an error