Mortgage Rates This Week: Freddie Mac Holds at 7.40%
Bucks Co. & Beyond Daily
Bucks Co. & Beyond Daily
Every Thursday, Freddie Mac drops its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and this week the headline was a pause, not another climb. As of October 15, 2026, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage held at 7.40%, unchanged from last week, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, that same average was 6.27%. “The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
That flat reading matters because the path into it was steep. Freddie Mac’s archive shows the 30-year at 7.28% on Oct. 1 and 7.40% on Oct. 8 (up 0.12 from the week before), so today’s hold keeps the average at that level for a second straight survey. Trade coverage of today’s release, including AP’s write-up, notes this ends a seven-week climb and puts the average at its highest since Nov. 16, 2023, when it was 7.44%. Rates are still high, but the climb finally stopped, which gives buyers and sellers a clearer week to plan instead of chasing another upward tick.
The 15-year fixed averaged 6.71% as of Oct. 15, down from 6.73% last week (year ago: 5.52%), per Freddie Mac. Realtor.com’s Oct. 15 piece tied the hold at 7.40% to a bond market that steadied this week. HousingWire lead analyst Logan Mohtashami wrote Oct. 15 that the 10-year Treasury yield tested a key 5.35% level several times over the past month, held below it, and then turned lower. That’s his read on the bond market, not a Freddie Mac figure and not a forecast for mortgage rates.
Application volume is still soft. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 9, 2026 showed applications down 2.7% seasonally adjusted, with the Purchase Index down 4% and Refinance down 0.4%. MBA’s Joel Kan said its own 30-year contract rate hit 7.5% that week, the highest since November 2023 (MBA runs a different survey than Freddie Mac), and the ARM share rose to 10.5%, its highest since October 2025. So the national story is familiar: high rates, softer purchase demand, and a slice of borrowers still leaning on adjustable products to manage the payment.
If you’re shopping in Bucks County right now, the pause doesn’t make 7.40% feel cheap. What it does is stop the week-to-week escalation that was making payment math a moving target. A second week at the same Freddie Mac average means you can run numbers, get fully underwritten, and compare listings without discovering the rate jumped again mid-search.
Locally, September’s Bright MLS snapshot (via the Bucks County Association of Realtors Local Market Insight, stats calculated Oct. 8, 2026) shows a market with more breathing room than the white-hot years, even as prices hold. Closed sales were 529 (−20.1% from August’s 662, −3.6% from September 2025’s 549). The median sold price was $515,000 (−2.8% from August’s $530,000, +1.0% from September 2025’s $510,000). Active listings sat at 1,062 (August 981; September 2025 880), with 620 new listings, 535 new pendings, average days on market 29, and average sold-to-original-list-price 98.1%. For buyers, that inventory level is the real upside of a high-rate stretch: more homes to choose from, and less of the one-weekend free-for-all that defined the pandemic peak.
Sellers still have leverage when the house is ready and priced to the comps. Homes sold for 98.1% of original list on average in September. That’s a healthy result for well-priced homes. Closed sales cooled month over month, which is normal as we move through fall, but the year-over-year median price was still up a point. Serious buyers who are still writing offers in a 7%-plus rate environment tend to be further along on financing and timeline. The smart move is to list when your house is camera-ready and priced to what September actually supported.
Watch next week’s Freddie Mac print and the bond market into any Fed-adjacent data. I’m not forecasting a drop. Nobody should treat a Thursday pause as a permanent peak, either. I’m saying the climb stopped for now, Bucks still has inventory and velocity for well-presented homes, and the winners on both sides of the table will be the people who act on today’s numbers instead of waiting for a perfect headline.
Will mortgage rates go down in 2026?
Nobody can promise that. As of Oct. 15, 2026, Freddie Mac’s 30-year average is 7.40%, unchanged from last week after a multi-week climb. Whether rates ease from here depends on inflation, the bond market, and Fed policy. Watch the next PMMS rather than treating this pause as a forecast.
Is it a good time to buy a house in Bucks County?
It depends on your payment comfort and timeline, not a national slogan. The 30-year average is 7.40% (Freddie Mac, Oct. 15), but Bucks September data showed 1,062 active listings and a $515,000 median sold price. That’s more choice than the ultra-tight years, and homes are still trading near list when priced right. Get a current pre-approval and shop the inventory that fits your life.
Are mortgage rates high right now compared with last year?
Yes. Freddie Mac’s 30-year averaged 7.40% as of Oct. 15, 2026, versus 6.27% a year earlier; the 15-year was 6.71% versus 5.52%. Trade coverage of today’s release also notes the average is near a three-year high after a seven-week climb.
Looking for Bucks County town-by-town context beyond the countywide numbers? Start with my Bucks County neighborhood guides.
High rates are frustrating. I’ve said that to buyers at my kitchen table more times than I can count this year. But a week that finally holds still is useful news. I’m Nick Rau, President of Sales with the Rarity Real Estate Team, ranked in the Top 1% of agents nationally (RealTrends 2025, individual), with more than 135 Google reviews, and I live right here in Bucks County.
Rarity Real Estate Team, 1100 N Delaware Ave Suite A, Philadelphia, PA 19125 · (215) 593-7498 · [email protected]
Questions about buying or selling in Bucks County? Call (215) 593-7498 or email [email protected].
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Featured photo: the Mansion Inn on Main Street, New Hope, PA. Photo (cropped): Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources: Freddie Mac PMMS, Oct. 15, 2026; Freddie Mac PMMS archive; AP coverage of Oct. 15 release; Realtor.com, Oct. 15, 2026; HousingWire (Logan Mohtashami analysis); MBA Weekly Applications Survey, week ending Oct. 9, 2026; BCAR September 2026 Local Market Insight (Bright MLS).
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