Mortgage Rates Today, October 9, 2026 (index as of Oct 8 close)

Today’s index numbers

All four readings below come from the Mortgage News Daily rate index on the same day, so they can be compared with each other.

• 30-year fixed: 7.50% (-0.09 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 8, 2026
• 15-year fixed: 7.17% (-0.05 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 8, 2026
• 30-year FHA: 7.17% (-0.05 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 8, 2026
• 30-year VA: 7.18% (-0.05 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 8, 2026

Freddie Mac weekly survey: 7.40%, survey dated Oct 8. A weekly national survey of purchase applications, so it lags the daily index above.

Also today: the jumbo reading on the same Mortgage News Daily index came in at 7.65%, down 0.06 on the day, and the 7/6 SOFR adjustable rate held flat at 6.95%. The Federal Reserve’s target range for the federal funds rate is 3.75% to 4.00% following the quarter point increase on September 16, and the next scheduled meeting is October 28. The 10-year Treasury yield is near 5.26% this morning after easing through Thursday’s session. There is no major U.S. economic release on the calendar today, and Mortgage News Daily points to next week’s inflation reports on Wednesday and Thursday as the nearest data likely to move bonds.

These are national survey and index averages, not an offer.

What moved rates

Thursday was the best single day for the daily index in some time. The 30-year fixed reading closed 9 basis points lower at 7.50%, which Mortgage News Daily called the biggest one day drop in roughly three months. The 15-year, FHA and VA readings each came down 5 basis points. For context on how the day actually unfolded, Mortgage News Daily noted that bonds opened moderately weaker on oil prices and hawkish Fed commentary before reversing course, so the closing figures look calmer than the session felt.

As for the cause, Mortgage News Daily was direct about not having a tidy one. Its rate commentary said the move could not be traced to one standout event, and its bond recap credited the reversal mainly to investors buying the dip in bond prices after yields had climbed to the top of their recent range. The recap also noted that mid day gains followed war related headlines, and described Thursday’s 30-year Treasury auction as decently strong but largely priced in by the time it arrived, since bonds had already rallied ahead of it. Remember that bond prices and yields move in opposite directions: when buyers step in, prices rise, yields fall, and mortgage pricing tends to follow.

What that means in practice is that this was a positioning move rather than a response to new information. Mortgage News Daily was explicit that the dip buying dynamic does not by itself point to further declines. Yields are still well above where they sat earlier in the fall, and with no U.S. data on today’s calendar, the next real test comes from next week’s inflation readings.

What it means if you are…

Shopping. A 9 basis point improvement is a real move on the index, but it is one day and it follows several days of drift in the other direction. If you have a quote that is more than a few days old, it is worth asking for a fresh one before you write an offer, because the figures above are index averages and your own pricing depends on credit profile, loan amount, property type and occupancy. Keep your pre-approval current so you are not renegotiating financing while you are negotiating a house.

Refinancing. The government programs are pricing meaningfully below conventional right now, with FHA 30-year at 7.17% and VA 30-year at 7.18% on the same index. If you already hold an FHA or VA loan, that gap is the reason a streamline review is worth running even when the headline number has not moved much, because those programs carry their own reduced documentation paths. Run the refinance savings check on this site with your actual balance and payment, and weigh the result against the full cost of the new loan rather than the rate alone.

Under contract. If your lock window ends in the next couple of weeks, this is a reasonable morning to ask your lender exactly where your lock stands, what it costs to extend, and whether your pricing can improve if the index keeps giving ground. Those three answers tell you more than any forecast. If you are floating, know what your break even looks like on an extension before the question becomes urgent.

What a $400,000 loan looks like at today’s average

At the index average of 7.50%, principal and interest on a $400,000 loan amortized over 30 years works out to roughly $2,796.86 a month. The arithmetic: 7.50% divided by 12 gives a monthly rate of 0.625%, applied across 360 payments. The first month’s interest alone is $2,500 of that payment, which is why the early years of a loan at this level build equity slowly.

These figures exclude property taxes, homeowners insurance, flood insurance, mortgage insurance and any association dues; the actual monthly obligation will be greater.

Florida note

If you are buying a Florida home built roughly 30 or more years ago, the inspection that most often decides whether your closing happens on time is not the home inspection you ordered, it is the four point inspection your insurer wants. A four point looks at exactly four systems: roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. It is not a condition report for your benefit, it is an underwriting document for the carrier, and carriers in this state read it strictly. The usual deal breakers are known: polybutylene supply lines, cast iron drain lines near the end of their life, aluminum branch wiring, certain older electrical panels that carriers will not insure at any price, and a roof with little remaining useful life. Florida’s 2022 property insurance changes limited an insurer’s ability to refuse a policy on roof age alone when an inspection shows at least five more years of useful life, which helps, but it does not help with a panel or a plumbing system a carrier has decided it will not write. The sequence that matters is this. Your lender cannot close without a bound hazard policy, so insurance is not a last week errand, it is a first week task. Get the four point ordered during your inspection period, send it to your insurance agent immediately, and get a written indication of what the carrier will and will not accept before your inspection contingency expires. Buyers who learn in week three that the house is insurable only through a surplus lines carrier at double the quoted premium are not usually facing a loan problem; they are facing a payment that no longer fits the ratios they qualified under, and by then the money they would use to walk away is already committed.

Rates shown could change or may not be available at commitment or closing. For a quote on your own scenario, use the rate-quote form on this page.

Daily Mortgage Rates is published by PMF, Inc. d/b/a Pioneer Mortgage Funding, NMLS #1980 · Branch NMLS #2681379 · Mortgage Loan Originator: Brendin Straubel, NMLS #1757609 · 401 E Jackson St, Suite 2340, Tampa, FL 33602 · 813-728-7764 · bstraubel@pmfmortgage.com. Verify licensing at nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit approval.