Mortgage rates crossed 7 percent and kept going. Freddie Mac's weekly survey puts the average 30 year fixed rate at 7.28 percent, up from 7.03 percent last week. That is a rise of 0.25 percentage points in seven days. It is the largest one week rise since October 2022. It is also the highest weekly reading since November 2023. The 15 year average rose to 6.60 percent from 6.42 percent. A year ago the 30 year average was 6.34 percent. Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
This brief did not publish last week, so here is the gap. The last issue, on September 17, had the 30 year average at 6.95 percent. In two weeks it has risen 0.33 percentage points.
Mortgage rates rose with the 10 year Treasury, a government bond yield they tend to follow. It reached 5.29 percent on Wednesday September 30. That is its highest level since May 2002. The Fed did not move this week. Its last change was the increase on September 16.
Fewer people applied for mortgages. Total applications fell 6 percent for the week, applications to buy a home fell 4 percent, and refinance applications fell 9 percent, all after adjusting for normal seasonal swings.
Two other reports matter. On Wednesday, the day before the rate survey came out, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, the PCE price index, showed prices up 3.4 percent over the year to August, or 3.0 percent leaving out food and energy. Then on Friday morning, after the rate survey, the jobs report showed employers added only 29,000 jobs in September. The two months before were revised down by a combined 60,000. With those revisions, July now counts as a loss of 10,000 jobs and August as a gain of 133,000. Nobody can tell you yet what that does to rates.
What to do this week if you own a home or are buying one
If you have applied for a mortgage and have not locked your rate, call your loan officer today. Locking means the lender agrees to hold your rate for a set number of days while your loan closes. The average 30 year rate has gone from 6.95 percent to 7.28 percent in two weeks.
Ask two things on that call. What would it cost to lock today? And if your closing date slips, what would it cost in dollars to extend the lock? You want both answers before you decide, not after.
If you are only shopping, do not use 7.28 percent as your number. It is a national average for borrowers with excellent credit, 20 percent down, and a conventional loan of standard size, meaning one not backed by a government program and inside the usual size limit. Your own rate depends on your credit, your down payment, the size of your loan, and the property.
Take your own loan amount and run it in the mortgage payment calculator at a rate a lender quoted you, then again a third of a percentage point higher. That shows roughly what a move the size of these two weeks looks like on a loan your size.
If you have a home equity line of credit that follows prime, its benchmark did not change this week. Prime stayed at 7.00 percent. Your line may still adjust on its own schedule to the September increase, or when an introductory rate ends, so check your statement.
If you are waiting for rates to come down, that is a real choice, and nobody knows which way they go next. Friday's weak jobs report is one reason some people expect relief. A 3.4 percent inflation reading is one reason others do not. Do not make a big decision on one week of headlines in either direction.
Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
The week in rates
Source Freddie Mac PMMS national averages, Oct 1 2026, and the 10 year Treasury constant maturity via FRED, series DGS10, Sep 30 2026, the most recent value published. These are published national benchmark and average rates from the sources named above. They are not an offer, not a quote, and not a rate anyone is being offered by anyone, including me.
The 30 and 15 year numbers come from Freddie Mac's weekly survey, which averages the rates on home purchase applications that lenders across the country submit to Freddie Mac. The survey looks at one kind of borrower. That borrower is buying a home with 20 percent down and excellent credit. The loan is not backed by a government program such as FHA or VA, and it is within the standard loan size limit. Your own rate depends on your credit, your down payment, the size of your loan and more. Use these as a read on the market, not as the rate you should expect.
The 10 year Treasury yield is the return investors get on 10 year US government bonds. Mortgage rates tend to rise and fall with it, which is why it is worth watching.
The 10 year Treasury was at 5.29 percent on Wednesday September 30, up from 5.11 percent a week earlier. That is the highest reading since May 2002. It rose in each of the three trading sessions after September 25, going from 5.17 to 5.29.
The prime rate, which home equity lines follow
Source Bank prime loan rate via FRED, series DPRIME, 7.00 percent on Sep 30 2026, unchanged since it moved from 6.75 percent effective Sep 17 2026. These are published national benchmark and average rates from the sources named above. They are not an offer, not a quote, and not a rate anyone is being offered by anyone, including me.
The prime rate is still 7.00 percent. It went there on September 17, the day after the Federal Reserve raised its own rate, and it has not moved since.
Prime is the rate most large US banks post. Most home equity lines of credit are priced at prime plus or minus an amount the lender sets. So if you have a line of credit, its benchmark did not change this week, though your line may still adjust on its own schedule to the September increase. The 30 year mortgage average did. Those two can move separately, and this week they did.
That matters if you are comparing a line of credit with a new first mortgage. The line follows prime, which follows the Fed. Fixed mortgage rates tend to move with the 10 year Treasury, which is what climbed this week. The Fed's rate committee next meets October 27 and 28.
A fixed rate home equity loan you already have does not change. Neither does a fixed first mortgage.
I do not publish an average rate for home equity loans or lines of credit. Each lender prices them differently, and published averages disagree widely depending on the borrower they assume. Prime is different. It is one published benchmark, the same at most large banks. The amount your lender sets on top of it still varies, and the only honest way to know your own number is to have a lender work it up on your actual loan.
Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
Who applied for mortgages
The Mortgage Bankers Association tracks mortgage applications every week through a survey of lenders. Most of these numbers are shown after adjusting for normal seasonal swings, like slower holiday weeks. That makes one week fairer to compare with the next.
All mortgage applications were down 6 percent for the week after adjusting for normal seasonal swings, and also down 6 percent before that adjustment. Adjustable rate loans, where the rate can change after an opening period, rose to 10.3 percent of applications, which the Mortgage Bankers Association said is the highest share since October 2025. The association's own average for a 30 year fixed loan was 7.30 percent, the highest since November 2023 by its count. That comes from a different survey, a week earlier. Compare it with Freddie Mac's 7.03 percent published September 24, not with this week's 7.28.
Applications to buy a home were down 4 percent for the week after adjusting for normal seasonal swings. Before that adjustment they fell 5 percent for the week, and they were 14 percent below the same week in 2025. There is no holiday in either week this time, so unlike the Labor Day week covered in the September 17 issue, the calendar does not explain this one.
Applications to refinance were down 9 percent for the week and 56 percent below the same week a year ago. Late September 2025 was a busy refinance stretch, when the average 30 year rate was about 6.3 percent, so the year ago comparison is against a strong week. Refinances made up 38.3 percent of all applications, down from 39.3 percent.
Source MBA Weekly Applications Survey, week ending Sep 25 2026, released Sep 30 2026, week over week figures seasonally adjusted unless stated otherwise. The refinance and adjustable rate shares are shares of all applications that week and are not adjusted for seasonal swings, as publicly reported. Any rate or share named in this section is a published national average of applications already taken. These are published national benchmark and average rates from the sources named above. They are not an offer, not a quote, and not a rate anyone is being offered by anyone, including me.
How households are doing
These numbers change slowly. They show how much equity, debt and savings American households have, which shapes what options make sense for a homeowner. Each one shows its own date because they are updated on different schedules.
$11.7 trillion in home equity to borrow against, up about 1 percent from a year earlier
Equity is what a home is worth minus what is still owed on it. Homeowners with a mortgage hold $18 trillion of it in total, up from $17.8 trillion a year earlier. ICE, which tracks mortgage data, counts $11.7 trillion of that as the part homeowners could borrow and still keep 20 percent of their home's value as equity. A year earlier it was $11.6 trillion. So there is a little more to borrow against in total than a year ago. About 47.5 million homeowners with a mortgage have equity they could borrow against, roughly the same number as a year earlier. It is not spread evenly, so your own home's equity depends on its value and what you owe.
ICE Mortgage Monitor, August 2026 and August 2025, as of Q2 2026, compared with Q2 2025
About two thirds of the main mortgages people already have carry a rate under 5 percent
Of the main mortgages people already have, not counting home equity loans or other second loans, 65.6 percent carry a rate under 5 percent and 49.1 percent are under 4 percent. About 22.5 percent, a little more than 1 in 5, carry a rate of 6 percent or higher, up from 20.2 percent a year earlier.
Federal Housing Finance Agency, National Mortgage Database, as of the second quarter of 2026, released September 30 2026, compared with the second quarter of 2025
Homeowners insurance is 9.6 percent of the average monthly mortgage payment
Insurance costs rose 8.7 percent over the past year. That is still an increase, but a slower one. The yearly increase was 11.4 percent at the start of 2026 and peaked at 15.1 percent at the end of 2024. The 1.8 percent rise in the second quarter was the smallest since ICE started tracking it. Homeowners who shopped and switched insurers cut their premiums 6.6 percent, a record. Those who stayed paid 10.4 percent more. The two groups are not alike, so that gap is not a promise of what switching saves you. Insurance ranges from 24.3 percent of the payment in New Orleans to 4.3 percent in San Jose.
ICE Mortgage Monitor, September 2026 edition, as of the second quarter of 2026, in the edition released Sep 10 2026
$1.26 trillion in credit card balances nationwide
This counts every card balance, including people who pay theirs off in full each month, so not all of it is being charged interest.
New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report, Q2 2026, as of Q2 2026, released Aug 11 2026
20.94 percent average credit card interest rate
The average across all commercial bank credit card accounts, close to three times the current average 30 year mortgage rate. The real gap is smaller for someone thinking about using home equity to pay off cards, because a second mortgage usually carries a higher rate than a first mortgage.
Federal Reserve G.19, FRED series TERMCBCCALLNS, as of May 2026
$8,000 is the typical balance in household checking and savings
This is the median, meaning the household in the middle, across checking, savings and money market accounts for households that have them. The average is $62,410, much higher, because a small number of very large balances pull it up.
Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, as of 2022 survey, the last full survey released
$155,800 average 401k balance, a record
The average across 401k plans Fidelity administers, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier. More people are also taking money out: 3 percent of participants took a hardship withdrawal, meaning they took money out early because of a serious financial need, up from 2.6 percent a year ago. And 19.5 percent have a loan against their 401k.
Fidelity Q2 2026 Retirement Analysis, as of Q2 2026, reported Sep 3 2026
$459 billion owed on home equity lines of credit
Money homeowners have borrowed against their equity with a line of credit, usually a second loan that leaves their main mortgage in place.
New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report, Q2 2026, as of Q2 2026
55 percent of the equity homeowners took out came through a second loan
Nearly 548,000 homeowners took out a combined $54 billion in equity in the second quarter. About $29.5 billion came through home equity loans and lines of credit, which sit behind the main mortgage and leave it in place. The other $24.3 billion came through cash out refinances, which replace the main mortgage with a bigger one, the strongest quarter for that in nearly four years by ICE's count.
ICE Mortgage Monitor, September 2026 edition, released Sep 10 2026, as of Q2 2026
Every figure above is a published national aggregate from the source named beside it. Any rate shown here, including the credit card average, is a national average and not an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
For loan officers
This part is written for loan officers. If you own a home or are buying one, it is still worth reading, because it shows the kind of conversation a good loan officer should be having with you.
The 30 year average jumped 0.25 percentage points in a week, so every client who has not locked needs a call before Monday morning
The Freddie Mac national average went from 7.03 to 7.28 percent in one week. That is the largest one week rise since October 2022. Over two weeks it is up 0.33 percentage points. The 10 year Treasury yield reached 5.29 percent on September 30 in FRED's daily series, its highest since May 2002.
Nobody knows which way rates go next. Friday's jobs report was weak, with only 29,000 jobs added in September and the two months before revised down by 60,000. Some clients will hear that and want to wait for relief. That is a real choice. But inflation is still running at 3.4 percent by the Fed's preferred measure, and the Fed raised its rate only last month. A client who waits should be choosing to, not drifting into it.
So call every client in process who has not locked, following your compliance team's rules for contacting applicants. Know before you dial what your company charges to extend a lock and whether it offers a float down, which can let a locked loan take a lower rate if pricing improves under your company's conditions.
Then make it concrete. Run their loan amount in the mortgage payment calculator at what they were quoted and again a third of a percentage point higher, about the size of the last two weeks' move. Let them decide against a number instead of a feeling.
And check your rate sheet every morning. After a week like this, yesterday's rates are not today's.
Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
With the average at 7.28, few borrowers can lower their rate by refinancing, so look for the expensive debt instead
New federal data for the second quarter of 2026, released Wednesday, says 65.6 percent of the main mortgages people already have carry a rate under 5 percent.
About 22.5 percent carry a rate of 6 percent or higher, up from 20.2 percent a year earlier. Be careful with that group. With Freddie Mac's October 1 national average at 7.28 percent, many of them sit below today's average, and the data does not say how many sit above it. The only way to find the ones who can lower their rate is the actual rate on the file.
The work that is still real is about money, not rate. Americans carry $1.26 trillion in credit card balances, though not all of it is charged interest. The average card rate was 20.94 percent in the Federal Reserve's May reading. So the client worth calling is the one with a cheap mortgage and expensive debt everywhere else.
Run it in this order. Start with the blended rate calculator using their real balances. That usually shows the mortgage is the cheap money and should stay. Then price a second loan through the home equity loan comparison, which shows the lower monthly cost against a longer debt now tied to the house.
A credit card is not secured by the home. A second mortgage is, and if the payments stop, the lender can foreclose. A fair number of these conversations should end with no new loan at all.
Before you pull or screen a list of past clients or past applicants to find these people, get the list and the wording approved by your compliance team. Screening by credit or debt data brings prescreening rules on top of Do Not Call, telephone and email rules.
Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
Homeowners took $54 billion out of their homes last quarter, and 55 percent of it came through second loans
ICE, which tracks mortgage data, reported that nearly 548,000 homeowners took a combined $54 billion out of their equity in the second quarter of 2026. About $29.5 billion of that, roughly 55 percent, came through home equity loans and lines of credit. The rest came through cash out refinances, about $24.3 billion, which ICE called the strongest quarter for cash out in nearly four years.
Most of those dollars came through second loans, so most of that money was taken without replacing the first mortgage. That makes sense when two thirds of existing mortgages carry a rate under 5 percent. Replacing a low rate mortgage to get cash means paying today's rate on the whole balance, not just the new money. Show that with the blended rate calculator before anyone signs anything.
Those figures are from April through June. The 30 year average is much higher now than it was then. So do not read the strong cash out number as a sign that cash out refinancing is working today. It describes a quarter that is over.
One more thing to explain to a client choosing between the two kinds of second loan. A home equity line of credit usually moves with the prime rate, which is 7.00 percent as of September 30, the bank prime loan rate published via FRED, and follows the Fed. A fixed home equity loan does not move once it closes. Run both through the home equity loan comparison so the client sees the trade between a rate that can change and one that cannot.
Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
Buyer applications fell 4 percent with no holiday to blame, so get to your agents before the 7 percent headline does
Applications to buy a home fell 4 percent last week after adjusting for normal seasonal swings. Before that adjustment they fell 5 percent, and they were 14 percent below the same week last year. There was no holiday in either week this time, so the calendar does not explain this one.
Your agents are about to hear "mortgage rates top 7 percent" everywhere. Get to them first with three things. Buying applications fell 4 percent on the week after adjustment. The average rate is a national figure for excellent credit and 20 percent down, not what their buyer will be quoted. And you will re run any buyer's numbers at today's pricing.
Then do the re running. Before contacting past applicants, check with your compliance team, because Do Not Call, telephone consumer protection and commercial email rules can apply. Put the client's real numbers, including their actual insurance quote, into the affordability calculator with them on the phone.
Adjustable loans rose to 10.3 percent of applications, the highest share since October 2025. If a buyer asks, give them both sides with the points. In the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey for the week ending September 25, the 5/1 adjustable averaged 6.47 percent with 1.20 points, against 7.30 percent with 0.75 points on the 30 year fixed. Points are upfront charges, each one equal to 1 percent of the loan amount. So the adjustable rate is 0.83 percentage points lower, but it comes with 0.45 more points paid up front. And the adjustable rate can rise after the first five years. Never show an agent a real borrower's numbers without that borrower's permission.
Every rate named here is a published national average or benchmark from the dated sources on this page. None of them is an offer, a quote, or a rate anyone is being offered.
What to watch next
Next week is light on big economic reports, so the bond market will mostly be digesting Friday's weak jobs report.
On Wednesday October 7, two things land. The Mortgage Bankers Association releases its weekly application numbers. The Federal Reserve publishes the minutes of its September 15 and 16 meeting, the one where it raised its rate, at 2 o'clock Eastern.
Freddie Mac's rate survey comes out Thursday October 8.
The next report that can really move rates is the Consumer Price Index for September, out Wednesday October 14 at 8:30 Eastern from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monday October 12 is Columbus Day, and the bond market is closed.
The Fed's rate committee meets again on October 27 and 28.
Loan officers, check your rate sheet before your calls each morning. After a move this size, yesterday's rates are not today's.
Where the numbers come from
Rates are the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey national average, published Oct 1 2026, and the 10 year Treasury constant maturity via FRED, series DGS10, Sep 30 2026, which is a daily yield rather than a closing price. The claims that the 0.25 rise is the largest one week rise since October 2022 and that 7.28 is the highest weekly reading since November 2023 were both checked against the full FRED MORTGAGE30US series; the last larger rise was 0.26 in the week of Oct 13 2022 and the last reading at or above 7.28 was 7.29 on Nov 22 2023. The 15 year comparison and the 6.95 percent figure from Sep 17 2026 are from the same series. The year ago 30 year average of 6.34 percent is from Freddie Mac's own Oct 1 2026 release. The claim that 5.29 is the 10 year's highest since May 2002 was checked against the full FRED DGS10 series, where the last reading at or above 5.29 is May 14 2002. The prime rate is FRED series DPRIME, which posted 7.00 percent through Sep 30 2026. The Federal Reserve's Sep 16 2026 increase is from the Federal Open Market Committee statement of that date. Application figures, the refinance and adjustable shares, the 30 year and 5/1 adjustable contract rates and points, and the association's comments on rates and adjustable share are the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey for the week ending Sep 25 2026, released Sep 30 2026, as published by the association. The year ago rate of about 6.3 percent for late September 2025 is the Freddie Mac survey reading for Sep 25 2025 via FRED. The PCE price index figure is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Personal Income and Outlays report for August 2026, released Sep 30 2026. Payroll figures and revisions are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation for September 2026, released Oct 2 2026, after the Freddie Mac survey was published. The share of existing mortgages by rate is the Federal Housing Finance Agency National Mortgage Database for the second quarter of 2026, released Sep 30 2026. Equity withdrawal figures are from the ICE Mortgage Monitor for September 2026, released Sep 10 2026. Other household figures are from the New York Fed, the Federal Reserve, ICE and Fidelity, each dated in the list above. Release dates in the week ahead were checked this week against the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Federal Reserve calendars. This issue was published Friday Oct 2 2026, a day late; it is dated for the Thursday survey it reports. This brief is educational market commentary. It is not an offer of credit, not a quote, not a commitment to lend, and not financial, tax, or legal advice. Figures are national aggregates and say nothing about what any individual borrower qualifies for.