Weekly mortgage rate update

This week mortgage rates crossed a line we have been watching for months: the 30-year fixed climbed above 7% for the first time since January 2025. The latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS), released Thursday, September 24, put the 30-year fixed at 7.03% and the 15-year fixed at 6.42%. Here is the data, what it means for your monthly payment on a $400,000 home in the Tri-Cities, and how to think about it whether you are buying, selling, or refinancing.

This week’s rates

Data sourced from the most recent Freddie Mac PMMS release, for the week ending September 24, 2026 (the latest available as of this update):

Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, week ending September 24, 2026. Rates assume a credit score of 740, 20% down payment, and 0.8 discount points. Actual rates vary by borrower profile. Freddie Mac’s public PMMS page reports the 30- and 15-year fixed rates; it did not publish a 5/1 hybrid ARM figure for this week’s release. The most recent verified 5/1 ARM survey reading, from the September 3 release, was 7.03%, which sat above the 30-year fixed at the time.

What happened this week

Freddie Mac’s release was titled simply “Mortgage Rates Average 7.03%.” The 30-year fixed moved up 8 basis points to 7.03%, and the 15-year fixed moved up 16 basis points to 6.42%. That puts the benchmark 30-year back above 7% for the first time since January 2025, on the heels of the largest single-week jump we saw the prior week. A year ago, the 30-year averaged 6.30%.

The driver is the same one we have watched all month: higher global bond yields. Mortgage rates track long-term Treasury yields closely, and when those move up, lenders follow. The direction is consistent with the forecasters’ maps, which is not a small comfort, but it is worth knowing so you can plan instead of react.

A note on adjustable-rate mortgages: this week’s official release reported the 30- and 15-year fixed rates only. The most recent verified PMMS 5/1 ARM reading, from early September, was 7.03%, already above the 30-year fixed. When a hybrid ARM is not offering a meaningful discount over a fixed rate, the predictability of a fixed-rate loan is usually the easier decision for a long-term home purchase.

What does 7.03% mean for your payment?

Let me put real numbers to this. If you are purchasing a $400,000 home in the Tri-Cities with 20% down ($80,000), your loan amount would be $320,000. Here is what that looks like at today’s rates:

Compared to last week, the 30-year is roughly $17 more per month on that $320,000 loan. Compared to the summer low of 6.43% in early July, today’s rate is about $127 more per month, a concrete picture of what this season’s climb has added to the cost of a typical purchase. I know a headline about crossing 7% can feel heavy, and it deserves to be taken seriously, but the weekly moves have been modest even as the direction stayed steady.

The 15-year fixed at 6.42% costs about $639 more each month than the 30-year but saves roughly $269,000 in total interest over the life of the loan. That trade-off fits some buyers beautifully and others not at all; it depends on your cash flow, your timeline, and your goals. That is why I always encourage clients to run the numbers for their own situation instead of assuming one term fits everyone.

The outlook from Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group published its September 2026 Economic and Housing Outlook on September 15, and the late-September read is consistent: as rates climbed through the month, both Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association trimmed their 2026 mortgage-finance forecasts, and both now expect the 30-year fixed rate to land near 6.8% by year-end 2026. In other words, the agencies see rates leveling off in the high 6s rather than returning to the mid-5s anytime soon.

Fannie Mae also revised down its single-family mortgage origination forecast for 2026, with volume expected to stay soft into 2027 before recovering in the back half of the year. That is the forecasters acknowledging what buyers already feel: higher rates and stretched affordability have cooled the pace of activity, even in markets like ours that keep drawing in-migration from higher-cost West Coast cities.

Both agencies continue to flag the “lock-in effect”: homeowners with ultra-low pandemic-era rates who are reluctant to sell, keeping resale inventory thinner than demand. In the Tri-Cities, steady in-migration meeting that constrained supply is what has kept home values resilient despite the rate climb. The price side of the ledger holding up matters for the math of your decision.

What this means for Tri-Cities buyers

Seven percent is a psychological line as much as a financial one, and I will not pretend it is not a harder month to shop in than July was. Roughly $127 more per month than the summer low, on top of the other costs of waiting, is real money. But here is what the data also says: no major forecaster is calling for a meaningful drop before late next year at the earliest, and the cost of waiting shows up in purchase prices and rent paid while you wait, not just in the rate column.

What actually moves the needle is what you control: your down payment plan, your credit profile, your pre-approval, and being ready to act when the right home appears. A $400,000 home in Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, or West Richland at today’s rate still builds equity month after month in one of the most affordable and resilient housing markets in Washington. I have helped buyers close at every rate reading we have tracked this year, and the ones who are happiest are the ones who ran their own numbers and bought for their own reasons.

What this means for sellers

When a benchmark rate crosses a round number like 7%, some buyers pause for a beat, and buying power tightens. That is exactly why precise pricing, sharp presentation, and honest marketing matter more now than at any point this summer. The good news: the demand picture in the Tri-Cities has not changed. Relocating families from Seattle, Portland, and California keep the pool of qualified, motivated buyers strong, and this week’s rate number does not erase the gap between a well-priced home and the competition.

For sellers, the guidance is steady: price against current market data, not last spring’s; stage thoughtfully; and market professionally. Homes that do those things are still drawing serious offers. The weekly headlines capture the rate, but they do not capture activity on the ground, where my team and I see every day what is actually selling and why.

The bottom line

Mortgage rates crossed 7% this week. The 30-year fixed sits at 7.03% (up 8 basis points) and the 15-year at 6.42% (up 16 basis points), the first time the benchmark has topped 7% since January 2025. Fannie Mae’s September outlook expects the 30-year to settle near 6.8% by year-end, with meaningful easing only later in 2027. None of that changes the fundamentals of the Tri-Cities market: prices steady, demand solid, and homes still building equity for the families who buy them.

The word of the week is clarity before commitment. This is the moment to run your own numbers at today’s rates, understand what you can comfortably afford, and decide based on your life and your goals, not on a weekly headline. Homeownership is about building a future for your family, not timing a market bottom. If you are ready to buy, sell, or simply explore your options, I would love to sit down with you, run the numbers at today’s rates, and map out what is possible for your specific situation.

Sources: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, week ending September 24, 2026 (“Mortgage Rates Average 7.03%”, released September 24, 2026). Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research Group, September 2026 Economic and Housing Outlook, published September 15, 2026. Coverage of the September 2026 outlook: National Mortgage News, September 21, 2026. 5/1 hybrid ARM prior figure per the September 3, 2026 survey; this week’s release did not publish a 5/1 ARM reading. Monthly payment estimates calculated with standard amortization formulas, and actual payments vary by loan terms, credit score, taxes, insurance, and other factors. This is not financial advice. Consult a licensed lender for personalized rate quotes.