The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey rose to 7.40 percent on Oct. 8, its seventh increase in a row. The reading was up from 7.28 percent the week before and from 6.30 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s Oct. 8 release. The 15-year fixed rate also rose, to 6.73 percent from 6.60 percent.
The run matters to anyone shopping for a purchase loan or a refinance. A rate that has gained three-quarters of a percentage point in seven weeks changes the monthly payment on a new loan noticeably, and the figures below show how much.
Freddie Mac posts a new 30-year average every Thursday, and the next reading arrives Oct. 15.
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The seven readings, week by week
Freddie Mac’s weekly archive shows how steady the climb has been. The 30-year average was 6.65 percent on Aug. 20, and it has risen every week since:
- Aug. 27: 6.66 percent
- Sept. 3: 6.71 percent
- Sept. 10: 6.76 percent
- Sept. 17: 6.95 percent
- Sept. 24: 7.03 percent
- Oct. 1: 7.28 percent
- Oct. 8: 7.40 percent
The first of those increases was a single basis point, from 6.65 to 6.66 percent, and Freddie Mac’s release headline that week said rates had changed little. The Sept. 3 release said the 30-year averaged 6.71 percent, “up from last week when it averaged 6.66%.” Counting only the weeks Freddie Mac itself called increases gives six; counting every week in which the published average moved higher gives seven.
Where the jumps came
The streak is not an even slope. The rate added 5 basis points on Sept. 3, 5 more on Sept. 10, then 19 on Sept. 17, 8 on Sept. 24, 25 on Oct. 1 and 12 on Oct. 8. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The two largest moves, 19 and 25 points, came in the weeks of Sept. 17 and Oct. 1.
The 15-year rate has followed the same path. It stood at 5.95 percent on Aug. 20 and at 6.73 percent on Oct. 8, a rise of 78 basis points against 75 for the 30-year. Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Sam Khater, said in the Oct. 8 release that “shopping around for a mortgage rate and getting multiple quotes can potentially save them thousands” over a loan’s life. The release does not say what is driving the increases. Freddie Mac’s survey, which it publishes every Thursday, also posts the prior week’s rate alongside the new one, which is how each step in the climb above can be traced back to a single release.
What 75 basis points does to a payment
By the standard fixed-rate payment formula, principal and interest on a $300,000 30-year loan would be about $1,926 a month at the Aug. 20 rate of 6.65 percent and about $2,077 at 7.40 percent, a difference of roughly $151 a month. At the 6.30 percent average of a year ago, the same loan would have cost about $1,857 a month. These are illustrations of the arithmetic on a hypothetical loan, not offers; Freddie Mac’s survey rate is an average of lender quotes, and an individual borrower’s rate depends on credit, down payment and points.
Against a year ago the gap is wider: at 7.40 percent instead of 6.30, the same hypothetical loan costs about $220 more a month.
A longer look back
The archive makes clear how far the rate has come since early summer. It stood at 6.43 percent on July 2, then 6.49 on July 9, 6.55 on July 16 and 6.58 on July 23, before touching 6.66 on July 30 and 6.69 on Aug. 6. It slipped to 6.67 on Aug. 13 and 6.65 on Aug. 20, the low of that stretch, and then began the run that ended at 7.40. The Oct. 8 reading is the highest in the archive going back to July 2, and 97 basis points above that starting point.
The 15-year rate shows the same shape. It was 5.79 percent on July 2 and 5.95 on Aug. 20, and it reached 6.73 percent on Oct. 8, compared with 5.53 percent a year earlier.
What to watch before the Oct. 15 reading
The official numbers live on Freddie Mac’s news release page, where each Thursday’s survey is posted with the prior week for comparison. A borrower with a rate lock should check its expiration date against the closing date, and anyone without one is exposed to whatever Freddie Mac reports on Oct. 15.
For a homeowner thinking about a refinance or a home equity loan, the useful comparison is the current note rate against the new quote, with the closing costs added in. The 7.40 percent figure is an average, and shopping several lenders is the one step Freddie Mac’s own economist named in the release.
The streak ends the first week the average is at or below the prior week’s number. Freddie Mac’s archive, not a lender’s rate sheet, is where that will first be recorded.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
