Economic conditions & trends

US Mortgage Rates Hit 7.49%, Highest Since 2023

Is this a healthy return to normal that cools prices for buyers or a deep freeze locking families out of ownership?

4 hours ago·Updated 54 minutes ago

US Mortgage Rates Hit 7.49%, Highest Since 2023

Story

Above: Homes in Hercules, California, on March 25, 2025. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

U.S. mortgage rates rose for a seventh straight week to 7.49% for the week ending Oct. 2, the highest level since November 2023, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Rates have risen about half a percentage point over the past three weeks.
The Wall Street Journal
Bloomberg
Mortgage rates have climbed 136 basis points since their February low of 5.95%. Total application volume fell 4.2% from the prior week, with refinancing down 8% and purchase applications down 2%, the MBA reported.
Al Jazeera
New York Post
CNBC
A separate daily survey from Mortgage News Daily showed the average 30-year fixed rate easing to about 7.56% this week, slightly below a recent high of 7.61% for the average lender and near the highest levels recorded since 2003.
CNBC
Mortgage News Daily
Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.28% on Oct. 1, up from 7.03% a week earlier in the largest weekly jump in roughly four years, while the 15-year fixed rate climbed to 6.60% from 6.42%.
CNN
World Property Journal
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.3% this week, a level last seen in April 2002, while the 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.73%, the highest in more than 24 years. Bankrate's lender survey showed a 30-year mortgage rate of 7.53%.
Al Jazeera
Former Republican on X
Bankrate
Adjustable-rate mortgages made up nearly 11% of first-lien rate locks in the week ending Sept. 18, the highest share in almost four years, ICE said. ARMs accounted for 10.3% of MBA applications, with rates roughly 80 basis points below fixed loans.
CNN
CBS News
New York Post

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Mortgage rates around 7% are just a return to the long-run normal — the cheap-money era was the real oddity. Pricier borrowing pushes speculators and second-home buyers out, cools price growth and lets wages catch up. Fading lock-in means more listings, more choices and real negotiating power for regular buyers.

Morning Star

The Wall Street Journal

Narrative B

Rates stuck near 7% price out buyers, freeze sales and starve builders of construction loans, squeezing supply even tighter. Every move higher adds hundreds a month to payments, sidelining first-timers and pushing more families into permanent renting. The only winners are landlords, while sellers forfeit equity and the market stays frozen.