Overview
- Freddie Mac pegs the 30-year fixed average at 6.17%, while short-term gauges briefly jumped to about 6.49% after the Fed move and Mortgage News Daily later showed 6.34%, the highest in three weeks.
- HousingWire’s locked-rate data on Tuesday showed 30-year conforming loans averaging 6.27%, with FHA at 6.10% and jumbo at 6.16%, both at year-to-date lows.
- Chair Jerome Powell said a December cut is not guaranteed, a signal that nudged the 10-year Treasury yield higher and kept mortgage pricing sensitive to upcoming jobs and inflation reports.
- Industry forecasters expect rates to hover in the low-to-mid 6% range through November, with direction tied to Treasury moves, CPI and labor data, and Fed communications.
- Lenders advise borrowers to lock an affordable rate and shop multiple quotes—Realtor.com research finds up to 55 basis points in savings—while examples show a $500,000 loan at 6.17% costs $3,052.62 in principal and interest and saves roughly $290 per month versus early 2025, with NAR estimating a 6% rate expands affordability to 5.5 million more households.