30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates This Week: What's Driving Them
Freddie Mac's weekly survey moved a quarter point in seven days — here is what that costs per month, and why the published figure is not an APR.
By Odalys Reyes Fontaine · Oct 06, 2026 · 8 min read
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.28% in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending October 1, 2026, up from 7.03% the previous week and 6.34% a year earlier (Freddie Mac, 2026-10-01). That is a 0.25 percentage-point move in seven days and a 0.94 percentage-point move in twelve months.
This guide shows the published numbers with their dates, explains what the survey does and does not measure, and sets out the mechanisms that move the weekly average — so you can judge whether the headline rate has anything to do with the quote in front of you.
Current Rate Snapshot
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.28% for the week ending October 1, 2026, up from 7.03% the week before, and up from 6.34% in the same week a year earlier (Freddie Mac, 2026-10-01). That is +0.25 percentage points week over week and +0.94 percentage points year over year.
The 15-year fixed averaged 6.60% in the same release, up from 6.42% a week earlier and 5.55% a year earlier (Freddie Mac, 2026-10-01) — a 0.18 percentage-point weekly move and a 1.05 percentage-point annual one. The gap between the two products that week was 0.68 percentage points.
Rate is not APR, and the survey publishes only the rate. The interest rate is the price charged on the loan balance and drives your principal-and-interest payment. The APR folds lender fees, discount points and certain other financing charges into a single annualized figure so two offers can be compared on cost, not just on the headline number. Freddie Mac states that under current Loan Product Advisor requirements, lenders are not always required to supply fees and points, so the survey cannot report average fees and points (Freddie Mac, undated). That means no APR can be derived from the 7.28% figure. The only APR that applies to you is the one printed on a Loan Estimate issued in your name.
Who the 7.28% describes. The survey collects the rate from purchase applications submitted to Freddie Mac through Loan Product Advisor by lenders across the country (Freddie Mac, undated), restricted to weekly conventional single-family originations within the conforming loan limits set by FHFA (Freddie Mac, undated). The borrower profile behind it is good-to-excellent credit, 20% down, purchase loans on owner-occupied one-unit single-family properties, and the survey no longer publishes adjustable-rate figures, with ARMs remaining more common on larger nonconforming loans (Freddie Mac, undated).
So if you are refinancing, buying a condo with a high HOA fee, putting 5% down, financing a two-to-four-unit property, or borrowing above the conforming limit in your county, the 7.28% average is background information rather than your price. Mortgage insurance follows the same logic: at 20% down on a conventional loan there is no PMI, which is one reason the survey's average sits where it does; below 20% down, a conventional loan generally carries PMI until you reach the equity threshold your servicer applies, an FHA loan carries both upfront and annual MIP, and a VA loan carries a funding fee instead of monthly mortgage insurance for eligible borrowers. Those costs sit in APR, not in the rate.
Freddie Mac has published this 30-year series since April 1971 (Freddie Mac, undated), which is why it is the number most news coverage quotes.
Rate Trend
All rows below are the 30-year fixed-rate average from the same source, Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Where a weekly release exists but its figure is not among the data used for this guide, the row says so rather than estimating — do not fill the blanks from another survey, because methodologies differ.
| Week ending | 30-year fixed average (Freddie Mac PMMS) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-01 | 7.28% | Current release (Freddie Mac, 2026-10-01) |
| 2026-09-24 | 7.03% | Reported as the prior week in the 2026-10-01 release; PMMS release also published 2026-09-24 |
| 2026-09-17 | PMMS release published; figure not among the data used here | Freddie Mac, 2026-09-17 |
| 2026-09-10 | PMMS release published; figure not among the data used here | Freddie Mac, 2026-09-10 |
| 2026-09-03 | PMMS release published; figure not among the data used here | Freddie Mac, 2026-09-03 |
| 2026-05-21 | PMMS release published; figure not among the data used here | Freddie Mac, 2026-05-21 |
| Same week, 2025 | 6.34% | Reported as the year-ago figure in the 2026-10-01 release |
Two things to read off this table. First, the only confirmed weekly change here is the 0.25 percentage-point rise between the weeks ending 2026-09-24 and 2026-10-01. Second, the 0.94 percentage-point year-over-year change is a far larger number than the weekly one, which is the usual pattern: weekly prints are noisy, annual comparisons are what reshape affordability.
What's Moving Rates
Start with the measurement window, because it determines which dated events can possibly be inside the number. The survey is published each Thursday at noon ET — Wednesday if a U.S. holiday falls on Thursday — and the results are an average of loan rates offered Thursday through Wednesday of the prior week (Freddie Mac, undated). The 7.28% print dated 2026-10-01 therefore reflects rates offered from Thursday 2026-09-24 through Wednesday 2026-09-30. Anything that moved bond markets on 2026-10-01 itself is not in it; it will show up in a later release.
The transmission chain, in order, is worth knowing by name:
- Inflation and labor data releases. Monthly consumer price index, PCE price index and nonfarm payrolls reports reset expectations for where short-term policy rates go. Check the release calendar for dates falling inside 2026-09-24 to 2026-09-30.
- FOMC rate decisions and the statement/projections that accompany them. The Fed sets the overnight policy rate, not mortgage rates. Its effect reaches you through expectations embedded in longer-dated bonds, which is why a mortgage rate can rise on the day of a Fed cut.
- The 10-year Treasury yield. Thirty-year fixed mortgages are priced off long-term yields rather than the policy rate, because borrowers prepay — through sale or refinance — long before 30 years.
- The mortgage-backed securities spread over Treasuries. When investors demand more yield to hold MBS — because prepayment risk or volatility is elevated — mortgage rates rise even with Treasury yields flat. This spread explains moves that look disconnected from the bond headlines.
- Survey composition. The average is built from actual applications submitted through Loan Product Advisor (Freddie Mac, undated) on conforming conventional purchase loans (Freddie Mac, undated). A shift in which lenders and which borrowers applied that week moves the average without any single lender changing its sheet.
The 2026-10-01 release reports the 7.28% average; it does not attribute the 0.25 percentage-point move to a named event, and neither should you without checking a dated data release against that Thursday-to-Wednesday window.
What the move costs. Using a $400,000 loan amount, 30-year term, and the survey's assumed profile of good-to-excellent credit with 20% down on an owner-occupied single-family purchase, principal and interest works out to roughly $2,737 a month at 7.28% versus roughly $2,669 at 7.03% — about $68 a month for one week's move. Against the year-earlier 6.34%, the same loan is about $251 a month higher. These are principal and interest only; they exclude property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues and any mortgage insurance, all of which vary by state, metro and property type. Your actual payment and APR come from your Loan Estimate, and your rate depends on credit, loan purpose, down payment, property type and lock terms. A general article is not a substitute for advice from a licensed loan officer, attorney or tax professional on your specific file.
Frequently asked questions
Will I be quoted 7.28% if I apply this week?
Not necessarily. The 7.28% average for the week ending 2026-10-01 (Freddie Mac, 2026-10-01) describes conventional, conforming, single-family purchase applications from borrowers with good-to-excellent credit putting 20% down on an owner-occupied one-unit property (Freddie Mac, undated). Refinances, condos, investment property, loans above the FHFA conforming limit in your county and low-down-payment files are priced separately. It also averages offers made from 2026-09-24 through 2026-09-30, so it lags live pricing by up to a week.
Why does Freddie Mac publish a rate but no APR?
Because lenders are not always required to provide fees and points under current Loan Product Advisor requirements, so the survey cannot report average fees and points (Freddie Mac, undated), and APR cannot be calculated without them. The rate sets your principal-and-interest payment; the APR adds lender fees and discount points into one annualized cost figure for comparing offers. Compare APRs only between Loan Estimates for the same loan amount, term and lock period.
Is the 15-year fixed a better deal right now?
It carried a lower rate — 6.60% versus 7.28% for the week ending 2026-10-01, a 0.68 percentage-point gap (Freddie Mac, 2026-10-01) — but a much higher payment. On a $400,000 loan at the survey's profile (good/excellent credit, 20% down, owner-occupied single-family purchase), principal and interest is roughly $3,507 a month over 15 years at 6.60% versus roughly $2,737 over 30 years at 7.28%. Both are conventional conforming loans, and at 20% down neither carries PMI; below 20% down, both would. The 15-year suits a borrower whose budget absorbs the higher payment and who wants faster amortization.
When does the next weekly number come out?
Each Thursday at noon ET, or Wednesday when a U.S. holiday falls on Thursday, covering rates offered Thursday through Wednesday of the prior week (Freddie Mac, undated). The series has run since April 1971 (Freddie Mac, undated). If you have a rate lock pending, the survey has no bearing on it — your locked rate is governed by the lock agreement and its expiration date, and you should ask your lender in writing for the lock length in days and the cost of an extension.
Sources
- Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates (2026-10-01)
- Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates Average 7.03% (2026-09-24)
- Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates Average 6.95% (2026-09-17)
- Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates Average 6.76% (2026-09-10)
- Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates Average 6.71% (2026-09-03)
- Freddie Mac — Mortgage Rates Average 6.51% (2026-05-21)
Written by
Odalys Reyes Fontaine
Odalys explains zoning fights, property taxes, and the incentives that quietly steer where housing gets built. She treats real estate as a civic story as much as a financial one. She's partial to footnotes and long city council transcripts.
