30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to 7.18 Percent, the Third Straight Weekly Drop

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen for a third week in a row, a small piece of relief in a market that is still expensive by the standard of a year ago. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average at 7.18 percent as of November 5, 2026, down from 7.24 percent the week before. The 15-year fixed average was 6.57 percent, down from 6.60 percent. A year earlier those averages were 6.22 percent and 5.50 percent.

The survey is a national average of rates on purchase applications that lenders submit to Freddie Mac. It is not a quote for any one borrower, and it is not the annual percentage rate, which also reflects certain loan costs. Freddie Mac publishes it on Thursdays. The November 5 release covered applications from the prior Thursday through Wednesday. The three-week slide ran from 7.40 percent on October 15, to 7.32 percent on October 22, to 7.24 percent on October 29, and then to 7.18 percent.

For an older homeowner thinking about selling, downsizing, or helping a child buy, the level matters more than the weekly tick. A rate near 7.18 percent is lower than it was three weeks ago and still about a percentage point above the same week last year. The payment on a new loan is set by the rate, the price, the down payment, and the term. A weekly average cannot tell a household whether a particular house is affordable.

Freddie Mac's note with the release said the decline improves the setting for buyers against a backdrop of strong economic growth. It did not claim that sales have recovered. Anyone about to lock a rate should compare lender offers on the same day, because the published average is a benchmark, not the offer.