U.S. Mortgage Average at 7.24% in Latest Published Reading Before November 4
Key Facts
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate U.S. mortgage was 7.24% on October 29, according to Freddie Mac’s archive, down from 7.32% on October 22. This was the latest weekly reading listed before November 4. That means the 7.03% figure associated with coverage of the news dates to September 24, not to a reading for November 4. In that September week, the average was 6.95% the previous week, while the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.42%.
Freddie Mac says its survey results for average mortgage rates are typically released on Thursdays, and the survey covers average loan offers from the previous Thursday through Wednesday. The October 29 reading therefore provides the available comparison before November 4, while the September reading does not establish the interest-rate level on the day of the news. Survey timing remains important when reading the figures, because each weekly figure corresponds to a defined collection period.
In the context of September, an ABC report linked rising mortgage rates to higher fuel prices and inflation risks. The report said the increase in mortgage rates coincided with higher oil prices and Treasury yields. This places housing finance within a broader movement in borrowing costs, with long-term yields linked to the pricing of home loans. The Federal Reserve also raised its target interest-rate range by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75%-4% on September 16, saying inflation remained elevated and economic activity was expanding at a solid pace.
Minutes of the Fed’s September meeting showed that nominal yields rose about 35 basis points across maturities from two to 10 years during the period between meetings. The minutes attributed the move in part to the expected policy path, strong data, geopolitical tensions and financing for AI investments. This context is consistent with ABC’s report that higher Treasury yields coincided with rising mortgage rates in September. The sources do not attribute the move in the week of October 29 to any single factor, while the change in the average between the two weeks remains recorded in Freddie Mac’s archive.
Labor market data provide additional context for economic monitoring: U.S. job openings totaled 7.523 million in September, up 333,000 from August. The job openings rate rose to 4.5% from 4.3% over the same period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These figures are for September and were released as part of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report; they do not represent levels on November 3. The next report, covering October, is scheduled for December 1 at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics scheduled the U.S. October jobs report for release on November 6 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The report comes after the latest published weekly reading for the mortgage average and before the October job openings data are released in December. The October 29 reading of 7.24% remains the figure published in Freddie Mac’s archive before November 4, compared with 7.32% the previous week. The 7.03% figure is for the September 24 reading and does not describe the mortgage rate during the November 4 session.