US Mortgage Rates Jump Most in Four Years Hitting 7.28 Percent as Housing Demand Freezes

Buying a house in America just got a lot more expensive in a single week. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 7.28% on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac, up 0.25 points from the week before. That is the biggest weekly jump in four years and the highest level since November 2023.

Compared with a year ago, the rate is up 0.94 points. That is a meaningful increase in monthly payments for anyone trying to buy now.

Demand is already cracking

Buyers are reacting. Mortgage applications fell 6% in the week ended September 25, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. MBA CEO Bob Broeksmit said affordability and demand have both weakened.

Some borrowers are reaching for riskier products to cope. Adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 10.3% of applications, the highest share since October 2025. ARMs offer a lower starting rate, but the payment can rise later, which is a bet that rates come back down.

Builders feel it too. KB Home has pointed to pricing adjustments as it tries to keep sales moving.

Blame the bond market

Mortgage rates follow the 10-year Treasury yield, and that yield has climbed more than 1.25 points since the Iran war began in February, as MarketWatch noted. We covered that climb when the 10-year yield hit 5%, and home loans are now paying the price.

It all lands on households that were already nervous. US consumer confidence recently fell to a 12-year low, and CNN's look at how to get a lower rate reads less like advice for buyers and more like advice for surviving a market that has stopped moving.