Freddie Mac's 30-Year Average Reaches 7.03%

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average at 7.03% as of September 24, 2026, up from last week when it averaged 6.95%. A year ago at this time the 30-year average was 6.30%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42%, up from 6.26%, against 5.49% a year ago.

What I counted myself

Freddie Mac publishes the whole weekly series as a file, and the arithmetic below is my own count from it. This is the fifth consecutive weekly rise in the 30-year average: 6.65% on August 20, then 6.66%, 6.71%, 6.76%, 6.95% and 7.03%. It’s also the first weekly reading at or above 7% since January 16, 2025, when the survey printed 7.04%. No weekly reading between those two dates reached 7%.

Where the year has been

The low of this calendar year in the same series was 5.98%, in late February. The high is this week’s reading. A buyer who priced a purchase in the winter and came back in the fall is looking at a different payment on the same house.

What the survey is measuring

The average comes from mortgage rates collected from thousands of loan applications submitted to Freddie Mac through Loan Product Advisor, from lenders across the country, when a borrower applies for a mortgage. Each weekly figure is an average of rates offered over the prior week. It’s a national benchmark, so treat it as a reference point. Your own number depends on your credit, your down payment, the property type, whether the loan is conforming, and the day you lock.

What to do with it if you’re buying in Greater Boston

If you’re already under agreement with a rate lock in hand, a weekly move doesn’t reach you as long as you close inside the lock window and your application doesn’t change. If you’re shopping, ask your lender two questions: what today’s quote is, and what a lock costs at each length on offer. During a run of increases each lock length can carry its own price, and you want that figure before you choose. Also worth asking what happens if rates fall after you lock. The CFPB’s rate lock page says lock policies vary by lender and lists that as a question to put to your lender.

The 15-year line

The shorter loan moved the same direction, from 6.26% to 6.42%. This week it carries a lower rate than the 30-year and, on the same loan amount, a higher monthly payment, so start with whether that payment fits your budget. If you want to compare, ask your lender to quote both on the same day with the same assumptions. If you’re pricing a purchase this fall, send the rate sheet over and I’ll read it with you. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.