The Mortgage Bankers Association said the average 30-year fixed rate rose 19 basis points to 7.49 percent in the week ended October 2, and that applications fell 4.2 percent.
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed US mortgage rose 19 basis points to 7.49 percent in the week ended October 2, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Reuters said that was the highest reading since November 2023.
Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury yield, which earlier this week hit a 24-year high. Reuters tied the climb to oil-price inflation worries and stronger growth data. Home borrowing rates are up about 1.4 percentage points since joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February.
Applications fell 4.2 percent from the previous week, with refinancing down sharply. Overall volume was the lowest since February 2025 and nearly half the January level. MBA deputy chief economist Joel Kan said few homeowners have a reason to refinance at these rates and that many potential buyers had stepped back.
Asked about mortgage rates, President Donald Trump called Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh great but said the rest of the board would like to see the country do badly because he thinks rates should come down. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the inflation and mortgage-rate jump on a temporary oil-price shock and said rates should ease once energy markets are better supplied.
The MBA figure is a weekly survey average, not a rate offered by a single lender. No new Federal Reserve decision was announced with the survey.
People Sentiments Negative
- Joel Kan said few homeowners have an incentive to refinance and that many potential buyers had stepped back.
- Trump said interest rates should come down.
- Bessent said mortgage rates should ease once the energy shock fades.