US Mortgage Rates Hit 7.28%: Payment Calculator and What It Means
Freddie Mac’s weekly 30-year fixed mortgage benchmark reached 7.28% on October 1, the highest reading since November 2023. See payments on $300,000 to $1 million loans, compare the prior week’s 7.03%, and run your own numbers.
Latest verified reading: Freddie Mac reported 7.28% for the 30-year fixed benchmark on October 1, 2026. The benchmark updates weekly and is not a guaranteed lender quote.
Quick answer
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 7.28% as of October 1, 2026, per Freddie Mac. That is up from 7.03% a week earlier and 6.34% a year earlier, and the highest reading since November 2023. On a $400,000 loan, principal and interest comes to about $2,736.85 a month, which is $67.58 more than at 7.03%. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.60%.
7.28% mortgage payment calculator
Enter a home price and down payment, pick a term, and compare your rate with another one. The calculator returns principal and interest. Add property tax and insurance if you want a fuller monthly number.
Compare your rate with 7.28%
Defaults use a $500,000 home, 20% down and the last two Freddie Mac readings.
Monthly principal and interest
This calculator uses the standard fixed-rate amortization formula. It does not include PMI, HOA fees, closing costs or points, and it is an educational estimate, not a lender quote.
Worked example
Take a $500,000 home with 20% down, so a $400,000 loan on a 30-year fixed term. At 7.28% the principal-and-interest payment is $2,736.85 a month. At last week’s 7.03% it was $2,669.27, so the week’s move costs $67.58 a month, or $810.90 a year. Over the full 30 years you would pay about $585,266 in interest at 7.28%.
Principal and interest only. Taxes, insurance, PMI and other costs are extra.
What does a 7.28% mortgage cost by loan size?
The table holds the loan amount and term constant (30-year fixed) and changes only the rate. The last two columns show what the rate move did to the payment since last week and since the February low.
| Loan amount | At 5.98% | At 7.03% | At 7.28% | Change vs 7.03% | Change vs 5.98% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $1,794.80 | $2,001.96 | $2,052.64 | +$50.68 | +$257.84 |
| $400,000 | $2,393.06 | $2,669.27 | $2,736.85 | +$67.58 | +$343.79 |
| $500,000 | $2,991.33 | $3,336.59 | $3,421.06 | +$84.47 | +$429.73 |
| $600,000 | $3,589.59 | $4,003.91 | $4,105.27 | +$101.36 | +$515.68 |
| $750,000 | $4,486.99 | $5,004.89 | $5,131.59 | +$126.70 | +$644.60 |
| $1,000,000 | $5,982.65 | $6,673.19 | $6,842.12 | +$168.94 | +$859.47 |
On a $400,000 loan, the move from 5.98% to 7.28% adds about $344 a month, or roughly $4,125 a year, before taxes and insurance.
15-year vs 30-year at today’s rates
Freddie Mac’s 15-year average was 6.60% on October 1, 0.68 points below the 30-year. The shorter term raises the monthly payment but cuts total interest sharply.
| Loan | Rate | Monthly P and I | Total interest | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 7.28% | $2,736.85 | $585,266 | $985,266 |
| 15-year fixed | 6.60% | $3,506.46 | $231,162 | $631,162 |
The 15-year loan costs about $770 more per month and about $354,000 less in interest over its life. Whether the higher payment fits a budget is the real test.
How much loan does a 7.28% rate support?
Working backward from a monthly principal-and-interest budget shows how rates shrink purchasing power. These are loan amounts, not home prices.
| Monthly P and I budget | Approx. loan amount |
|---|---|
| $2,000 | $292,307 |
| $2,500 | $365,384 |
| $3,000 | $438,460 |
| $3,500 | $511,537 |
| $4,000 | $584,614 |
| $5,000 | $730,767 |
| $6,000 | $876,921 |
Why did mortgage rates jump to 7.28%?
Mortgage rates follow longer-term Treasury yields more closely than the Fed’s overnight rate. The spread between the two can also change, so the link is not one-for-one.
The 10-year Treasury yield first topped 5% on September 15, its highest since 2007, and was around 5.3% by October 1. Long-term yields rose substantially during 2026, and that puts upward pressure on mortgage pricing. Analysts cite persistent inflation, higher oil prices and heavy government and corporate bond issuance as factors behind the move.
Did the Fed raise rates in September?
Yes. On September 16, 2026, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 to raise the federal funds target range by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75%-4.00%. It was the first increase since 2023. In the Fed’s September projections, the median participant sees the federal funds rate at 4.1% at the end of 2026, which is about one more quarter-point move above the current range. Projections are a year-end median, not a meeting-by-meeting path or a commitment, and they can change with the data.
The Fed does not set your mortgage rate. It controls the federal funds range. Your lender sets your rate using bond-market pricing, your credit profile, the loan type, points and the down payment.
Why different sites show different mortgage rates
Searches for “mortgage rates today” return different numbers because each publisher uses its own survey, borrower profile and time window. Freddie Mac’s survey is a weekly average of conforming purchase loans for borrowers with 20% down and strong credit. Many consumer sites publish daily quotes, and those ran higher this week. These figures are not directly interchangeable because survey populations, timing and methodology differ.
| Source | Rate | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Freddie Mac PMMS | 7.28% | Oct. 1, 2026 |
| MBA weekly survey (contract rate) | 7.30% | Week ending Sept. 25 |
| Bankrate national average | 7.38% | Sept. 30, 2026 |
| NerdWallet daily lender-rate average | about 7.4% | Oct. 1, 2026 |
What 7.28% means for the housing market
Higher rates cut how much a buyer can borrow at a given monthly budget, and the latest data shows buyers pulling back.
- Mortgage applications: The MBA reported total applications down 6% for the week ending September 25. Purchase applications fell 4% and refinance applications fell 9%, both to the slowest weekly pace since 2025.
- Price cuts: Realtor.com found 20.8% of September listings had a price reduction, the highest September share since 2018 and the highest for any month since October 2022. Homes under contract were down 4.1% from a year earlier.
- Inventory: NAR reported August existing-home sales down 2.0% from July to a 3.98 million annual pace. Inventory reached 1.62 million homes, a 4.9-month supply, the highest in over a decade.
This is not a crash signal. The median existing-home price was $429,100 in August, up 1.6% from a year earlier. The data points to affordability and demand pressure that varies by market, price tier and borrower.
What to watch next
Mortgage rates can move before any Fed meeting because bond markets price inflation and policy expectations continuously. These scheduled releases are the ones most likely to move yields.
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Oct. 7 | FOMC minutes (Sept. 15-16) | Shows how firmly members lean toward more hikes |
| Thu, Oct. 8 | Next Freddie Mac PMMS | First weekly rate after the 7.28% print |
| Wed, Oct. 14 | September CPI | Inflation data, expected to weigh heavily on the Fed |
| Wed, Oct. 28 | FOMC rate decision | End of the Oct. 27-28 meeting |
| Thu, Oct. 29 | Advance Q3 GDP | Growth read that shapes rate expectations |
FAQ: 7.28% mortgage rate
What is the current US 30-year mortgage rate?
What is the monthly payment on a $400,000 mortgage at 7.28%?
How much more is 7.28% than 7.03%?
Is 7.28% the rate every lender is charging?
Why did mortgage rates jump this week?
Did the Federal Reserve raise rates in September 2026?
What was the 15-year mortgage rate on October 1, 2026?
How often does Freddie Mac update its mortgage rate?
Do not use 7.28% as your number. Calculate yours.
The national benchmark tells you where the market is. Your loan size, term and quoted rate tell you what it means for your payment.
Open the calculatorSources and methodology
Rates, dates and market figures come from the primary sources below, checked on October 2, 2026. Payments use the standard fixed-rate amortization formula and are rounded to the cent. The 7.28% figure is Freddie Mac’s weekly national average, so treat it as a benchmark.
- Freddie Mac press release, Mortgage Rates Average 7.28% (Oct. 1, 2026): 30-year and 15-year averages, with the PMMS criteria.
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey: methodology and weekly archive.
- Freddie Mac, Feb. 26, 2026 release: the 5.98% low.
- Mortgage Bankers Association, Weekly Applications Survey (Sept. 30, 2026).
- Realtor.com, September 2026 Monthly Housing Trends Report.
- National Association of Realtors, August 2026 Existing-Home Sales.
- Federal Reserve, Implementation Note (Sept. 16, 2026), the St. Louis Fed series for the September projections and the October 2026 Fed calendar.
- CNBC, 10-year Treasury yield at its highest in 19 years and CNN, bond market sell-off (Oct. 1, 2026).
- Bankrate and NerdWallet: daily consumer rate averages used in the comparison table.
- BLS October 2026 release schedule and the BEA release schedule.
Built and verified by R.K., Creator and Business Economics Analyst. Last reviewed October 2, 2026.