Highest Mortgage Rates in 3 Years Chills the Housing Market

Mortgage rates are surging while home prices are climbing, an unwelcome combination that is dashing hopes for many Americans hoping to buy a home.

On Thursday, the mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had risen to 7.4 percent, up from 7.28 percent last week and the highest since November 2023. Last year at this time, the rate was 6.3 percent.

Mortgage rates had dipped below 6 percent in February, just before the start of the war in Iran, raising optimism that the housing market was becoming more affordable, said Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, the real estate marketplace.

“Now that we’re at 7 percent, that is a very far distance to push to improve affordability,” she said. “The difference between beating a dead horse and performing CPR is a perceived probability of success.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/business/mortgage-rates-housing-prices.html