Mortgage Rates Hold at 7.40%, Still at Their Highest Level Since 2023
Borrowing costs climbed for weeks, and the latest national reading shows them holding steady at that elevated level. If you are planning a purchase on the North Shore this fall, or you are wondering whether a move is still worth the wait, the numbers below are worth a few minutes of your time.
What the latest survey shows
Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, October 15, put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40%, unchanged from a week earlier and above the 6.27% recorded a year ago. The 15-year fixed rate averaged 6.71%, down slightly from 6.73%. The flat reading follows October 8’s 7.40%, which WRE News described as the highest 30-year level since November 2023 and Fox Business counted as the seventh weekly increase in a row.
- 30-year fixed: 7.40% (prior week 7.40%, year ago 6.27%)
- 15-year fixed: 6.71% (prior week 6.73%, year ago 5.52%)
One pause after a run of increases does not make a trend. Freddie Mac publishes a new survey every Thursday, so check the current number before you rely on any figure here.
Why rates climbed
Mortgage rates tend to follow the 10-year Treasury yield rather than the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions. Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner, quoted by Fox Business, pointed to that yield, which averaged 5.28% in the week of the October 8 survey, up 9 basis points. He cited inflation expectations, a bond market selloff and rising federal deficits that require more debt issuance.
That matters because this week’s inflation news has not helped. We covered the September consumer price report on our sister site, and the short version is that hotter inflation keeps upward pressure on yields. Rates can fall as quickly as they rise, but nobody can promise when.
What Long Island prices were doing
Rates are only half of the affordability story. The other half is price, and local prices have not softened. The Long Island Guide, citing OneKey MLS county reports, put the August 2026 median single-family sale price at $911,000 in Nassau County and $760,000 in Suffolk County. That is up 4.7% and 7.0% from August 2025.
- Nassau: 881 closed sales (down 3.0%), 2,259 homes for sale at month end, median 38 days on market
- Suffolk: 1,119 closed sales (down 0.9%), 3,129 homes for sale at month end, median 39 days on market
- Trailing 12 months through August: Nassau median $860,000 (up 5.5%), Suffolk median $720,000 (up 5.9%)
Suffolk homes sold for about 102% of their original list price at the median, and Nassau homes sold for about 100.5%. In plain terms, well-priced homes still attract competition even with fewer sales closing. Setauket, Mount Sinai and the rest of the North Shore sit inside Suffolk County, though individual neighborhoods can differ a great deal from the county median. These are August figures, so they will not reflect whatever this month’s rate climb does to demand.
A payment illustration, not a forecast
To show how a rate change reaches a household budget, take the Suffolk median of $760,000 with 20% down. That is a $608,000 loan. At 7.40% on a 30-year fixed loan, principal and interest comes to roughly $4,210 a month. At last year’s 6.27%, the same loan would be about $3,751. The gap is around $458 a month, or roughly $5,500 a year.
This is arithmetic, not a quote. It leaves out property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance and any points or fees, and your own rate will depend on your credit, down payment, loan type and lender.
What buyers and owners can do with this
- Get several quotes. Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater noted that comparing offers could save borrowers thousands of dollars over the life of a loan.
- Know your real budget. Get a pre-approval based on today’s rates, then see how a higher or lower rate changes what feels comfortable.
- Ask about options. Ask a lender about rate buydowns, adjustable products and refinancing later, and understand the risks of each before choosing.
- Think in years, not weeks. A weekly average is a snapshot. Decisions about a home usually work better on a longer horizon.
If you are weighing a purchase or a sale on the North Shore, we are glad to talk through the local picture with you, with no pressure. For anything involving a specific loan, speak with a licensed mortgage professional.
This post is general information, not financial, mortgage or legal advice. Rates and market figures change frequently and the data cited is from the sources below as of their publication dates.
A word for sellers
Higher rates reach sellers too, just from the other direction. A buyer’s monthly payment is the number that decides what they can offer, so when rates rise, some buyers drop out and others shift to smaller budgets. That does not mean prices are about to fall. The August data above shows homes still selling at or above list. It does mean pricing, condition and presentation matter more than they did when borrowing was cheaper.
Owners who locked in a low rate years ago face a different question: whether giving that up is worth a move. There is no universal answer. It depends on your plans, your finances and how long you intend to stay in the next home, and it is worth a candid conversation with a professional before you decide.
