Mortgage rates jump to 7.28%, the highest since November 2023 and the biggest weekly rise since 2022
Freddie Mac's 30-year average rose 25 basis points in a week. On a $400,000 loan that is about $68 a month more than last week and $251 more than a year ago, and almost all of it tracks the 10-year Treasury.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 7.28% this week from 7.03% a week earlier, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. A year ago it was 6.34%. The 15-year fixed rate rose to 6.60% from 6.42%, against 5.55% a year ago.
In Freddie Mac's weekly history, the 30-year average was last this high on Nov. 22, 2023, at 7.29%. The 25-basis-point rise is the largest one-week increase since October 2022, when rates were climbing toward 7% for the first time in two decades.
What it costs
Principal and interest on a $400,000, 30-year fixed loan, before taxes and insurance:
| Rate | Monthly payment | Difference vs. 7.28% |
|---|---|---|
| 6.34% (a year ago) | $2,486 | $251 less |
| 7.03% (last week) | $2,669 | $68 less |
| 7.28% (this week) | $2,737 |
Compared with a year ago, the same loan now costs about $3,000 more a year ($251 times 12). On a 15-year loan of the same size, this week's move adds about $40 a month, to roughly $3,506.
The number behind the number: it is almost all the 10-year
Freddie Mac's figure averages rates on applications from the prior Thursday through Wednesday. Over this week's window, Sept. 24 to 30, the 10-year Treasury yield averaged about 5.23%, by our calculation from Treasury's daily rates. In last week's window, Sept. 17 to 23, it averaged about 5.00%.
So the 10-year rose about 23 basis points between survey weeks, and mortgages rose 25. The spread between them barely changed, at about 2.05 points against about 2.03. Lenders did not get more cautious this week. The global bond selloff simply passed through to borrowers almost point for point. Mortgage rates will follow the 10-year from here, which you can track on our 10-year chart.
The thing the headline gets wrong
7.28% is a weekly average, and it lags. The daily index from Mortgage News Daily, which we covered on Tuesday, had already reached 7.58% for top-tier borrowers. The 10-year closed at 5.29% on Wednesday, the last day of Freddie's window, above its 5.23% average for the week. Quotes being written today reflect where yields are now, not this week's average. A buyer comparing a lender's quote with the Freddie Mac headline should expect the quote to be higher.
Who it hits
The most exposed person is a buyer under contract with a November closing who has not locked. Each further quarter-point move costs about $68 a month on a $400,000 loan, and the 10-year was still rising on the last day of the survey window. Buyers who locked in mid-September, when Freddie's average was 6.95%, are paying about $90 a month less than a loan priced at today's average.
The 15-year rate rose less than the 30-year, 18 basis points against 25, so the gap between them widened to 0.68 points from 0.61. For a borrower who can afford the higher payment, the 15-year is a little cheaper relative to the 30-year than it was last week.
For agents, builders and lenders heading into the slower autumn months, payments are now about 10% higher than a year ago on the same loan, at $2,737 against $2,486. Buyers notice that difference, even if prices stay the same.
Sources: Freddie Mac PMMS and PMMS history; U.S. Treasury daily yield curve rates. Payments, yield averages and spreads are Chronicle calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.
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