US 30-year mortgage rate jumps a quarter point in a week to 7.28%, Freddie Mac says - the highest since November 2023 and the sharpest weekly rise since October 2022

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week to 1 October puts the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.28%, up from 7.03% a week earlier and 6.34% a year ago. The 15-year fixed rate averaged 6.60%, from 6.42% last week and 5.55% a year ago.

Where that sits

Freddie Mac's own dashboard gives the week's move as 0.25 points and the year's as 0.94, the 52-week average as 6.38% and the 52-week range as 5.98% to 7.28%, so this week is the top of it. Its history file, weekly since 1971, shows the last reading at or above 7.28% was 7.29% on 22 November 2023; the 2023 peak was 7.79% on 26 October that year. A rise of a quarter point in one week is the largest since 13 October 2022, when the rate rose 0.26 points.

The climb has been steady: 6.55% in mid-July, 6.76% on 10 September, 6.95% a week later, 7.03% last week. The 15-year rate's 6.60% is likewise its highest since November 2023.

How the number is made

The survey is based on rates from thousands of loan applications submitted to Freddie Mac through its Loan Product Advisor system by lenders across the country. Each week's figure is the average of rates offered from the prior Thursday through Wednesday, published on Thursdays at noon Eastern; the page's FAQ notes that fees, points and adjustable rates are no longer published.

Freddie Mac's one line of commentary on the page says that "with mortgage rates on their current trajectory, the housing market continues to be supported by favorable economic conditions".