Mortgage rates reach 7.40% as home sales remain sluggish
Freddie Mac’s 30-year rate rose for a sixth straight week. September closings improved slightly, but the underlying housing market remains weak.
Developing
What changed?
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.40% on October 8, up from 7.28% a week earlier and 7.03% on September 24. Rates have risen for six consecutive weeks. The increase is a new financing development since NewsTrend’s September 30 coverage of the Federal Reserve’s rate hike.
The National Association of Realtors reported that September existing-home sales rose 1.5% from August to an annualized 3.99 million units. Inventory reached 1.60 million homes and the median sale price was $417,500, 1.3% above a year earlier. NAR cautioned that August and September were the two slowest sales months of 2026.
Why does it matter?
A slight increase in closed sales should not be mistaken for a new housing upswing. Closings often reflect contracts signed before the most recent mortgage-rate increase. Higher payments can weaken new purchase applications and push sellers to reconsider asking prices.
The immediate effect falls on transaction-dependent real-estate businesses, lenders and residential contractors whose pipelines depend on home purchases or new construction. Existing owners with fixed low-rate mortgages are affected differently from new buyers.
Who is most exposed?
Residential brokerages, mortgage originators, homebuilders, remodeling contractors tied to home purchases, and sellers competing in markets with more inventory.
What should businesses watch next?
October pending contracts and purchase-mortgage applications, price reductions, new-home orders, and Freddie Mac’s weekly rate. The next NAR existing-home-sales release is scheduled for November 12.
Freddie Mac — Primary Mortgage Market Survey weekly archive
National Association of Realtors — September 2026 existing-home sales, October 13
Trend check: A six-week mortgage-rate rise against a longer period of weak housing transactions; one month of higher closings is not a reversal.
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