Average 30-year mortgage rate rose 0.25 points to 7.28%, the biggest weekly jump since September 2022

Freddie Mac's weekly survey (the government-chartered mortgage buyer's average of lender rates), released Thursday, Oct. 1, put the 30-year fixed at 7.28%, up from 7.03% a week earlier. It was the sixth straight weekly rise and the highest rate since Nov. 22, 2023, when it hit 7.29%. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.6%. Mortgage applications fell 6% in the week ended Sept. 25, per the Mortgage Bankers Association. Adjustable-rate loans (a lower starting rate that resets later) rose to 10.3% of applications, the highest share since October 2025. Still open. National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun says rates "can come down once oil prices retreat and with a credible plan to reduce the budget deficit."

What rates above 7% did to home sales and refinancing:

• Existing-home sales: 4.09 million in 2023 and 4.06 million in 2024, the two lowest years since 1995 (NAR)
• Refinance loans for single-family homes fell 64% in 2023 (CFPB)
• Refinance volume hit $62 billion in the second quarter of 2024, the lowest quarter since 1996 (Freddie Mac)