The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage in the United States was 7.32 percent in the week ending 22 October 2026, down from 7.40 percent in each of the previous two weeks, according to the Freddie Mac survey as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The rate of 7.40 percent, recorded on 8 and 15 October, was the highest of 2026. A year earlier, on 23 October 2025, the rate was 6.19 percent, so borrowing costs are 1.13 percentage points higher than a year ago. The 2026 low was 5.98 percent, in the week of 26 February, which makes the current rate 1.34 points above its low.
The argument that the easing is meaningful rests on the direction of the last few weeks. The rate was 7.03 percent on 24 September, rose to 7.28 percent on 1 October and 7.40 percent on 8 October, and has now fallen for the first time since it began that rise. The decline of 8 basis points is small, but it comes after a rise of 37 basis points in the two weeks to 8 October. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which mortgage rates generally follow, was 5.13 percent on 21 October, below its 2026 high of 5.31 percent on 5 October, which is consistent with a slight fall in mortgage costs from their peak.
The counter-argument is that mortgage costs remain very high compared with recent history. At 7.32 percent, the rate on a $400,000 loan implies a monthly principal and interest payment of about $2,748, compared with about $2,447 at 6.19 percent a year ago, a rise of about $300 a month, a calculation using the standard payment formula. The rate has risen from 5.98 percent in February, a rise of 1.34 percentage points in eight months, and the 10-year yield has risen from 4.19 percent at the start of the year to 5.13 percent. One week of easing does not establish a trend, and the Federal Reserve meets on 27 and 28 October.
The rate has now been above 7 percent for five consecutive weekly readings: 7.03, 7.28, 7.40, 7.40 and 7.32 percent. Between the 2026 low of 5.98 percent and the high of 7.40 percent the rate rose by 142 basis points, which on a $400,000 loan is a rise in the monthly payment from about $2,393 to about $2,770, a difference of about $377, a calculation using the standard payment formula. The data matter because mortgage rates are a major factor in housing affordability, and the rise from 5.98 percent to above 7 percent has made buying a home more expensive for new borrowers. The rate also affects people who already own homes, since many hold loans at lower rates and have less reason to move, which can limit the supply of homes for sale. The Fed’s meeting and the movement in Treasury yields will determine whether the rate falls further.
Mortgage rates dipped slightly from their highest level of the year, but they remain far above last year’s. A larger fall would need a drop in Treasury yields.