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Housing & Real Estate · October 21, 2026 · 2 min read

Freddie Mac puts the average 30-year mortgage at 7.40%, up from 6.27% a year ago

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published October 21, 2026 • Updated October 21, 2026

Reviewed by Instinct source QC

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 7.40% in its latest weekly reading, versus 6.27% a year ago, with the 15-year fixed at 6.71% - the financing backdrop behind September's weak housing starts.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.40 percent in Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, up from 6.27 percent at the same time a year ago. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.71 percent, roughly flat versus the prior week's 6.73 percent. The survey, running since 1971, averages the rates lenders offer on conforming conventional loans to borrowers with strong credit; it is the standard reference rate cited in housing data, not a quote any individual borrower will necessarily receive. A 7.40 percent headline rate puts the monthly principal-and-interest payment on a $400,000 loan near $2,770, roughly $300 more per month than the same loan at last year's average - arithmetic that shows up directly in September's housing starts, which fell 5.2 percent to a 1.221 million annual rate, and in single-family permits, down 4.0 percent. Mortgage rates key off the 10-year Treasury plus a spread, and with the 10-year at 5.15 percent in the October 19 H.15 reading, the spread between the two remains wide by historical standards - a reminder that even if the Fed's policy path eases, mortgage relief depends on term premium and MBS spreads, not just the funds rate. The PMMS is a weekly average released on Thursdays; daily rate trackers will move around it. The durable signal is that financing costs near 7.4 percent continue to suppress both demand and new supply at the same time.

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