Personal Finance
Mortgage rates hold at 7.40%, keeping pressure on homebuyers
Freddie Mac’s October 15 survey puts the 30-year fixed average at 7.40%; individual loan offers vary.
By NewsCubby Editorial Desk · Published
The average U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate stayed at 7.40% for the week ending October 15, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 15-year fixed average eased to 6.71% from 6.73% a week earlier.
The unchanged weekly figure follows a rise from 7.28% on October 1 and 7.03% on September 24. Borrowing costs therefore remain higher than they were several weeks ago, a constraint for households considering a home purchase.
The figures are national survey averages, not an offer available to every borrower. Credit profile, loan terms and other circumstances affect the rate an individual lender quotes.
Photograph: Rick Obst. Archival home-sale and open-house signs photographed in Oregon in July 2026; illustrative housing-market context, not a current listing or endorsement. CC BY 4.0. Resized and placed in a matching branded composition; no scene alteration.