Mortgage Rates Today, October 12, 2026 (index as of Oct 9 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: 7.48% (-0.02 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 9, 2026
• 15-year fixed: 7.15% (-0.02 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 9, 2026
• 30-year FHA: 7.15% (-0.02 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 9, 2026
• 30-year VA: 7.17% (-0.01 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 9, 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 7.63%, down 0.02 on the day, and the 7/6 SOFR adjustable rate came in at 6.90%, down 0.05. 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 finished Friday near 5.24%, with the 2-year near 4.80%. Today is Columbus Day. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommends a full close for U.S. fixed income trading, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has no release scheduled, so there is no new bond market data behind the figures above until tomorrow. The week’s two inflation reports land at 8:30 Eastern on Wednesday, with the September Consumer Price Index and Real Earnings, and on Thursday, with the September Producer Price Index.

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

What moved rates

Friday was quiet and finished slightly better. The 30-year fixed index reading closed 2 basis points lower at 7.48%, which Mortgage News Daily described as a two week low. The 15-year and FHA readings each came down 2 basis points and the VA reading came down 1, so the whole table drifted in the same direction by about the same small amount.

Mortgage News Daily was clear that there was no outside event behind it. Its bond recap for the day opened by saying nothing new or interesting happened in terms of underlying events, news or data, and it put the intraday reversal down to price action alone, with the holiday weekend possibly adding some distortion to the trading. Its rate commentary explained the mortgage side mechanically: there had been a strong rally late in the prior session that lenders did not fully pass through on Thursday’s rate sheets, and when Friday’s slightly weaker bond market reversed course around 11am, several lenders used the opening to reprice lower. In other words the improvement on Friday was partly leftover from Thursday rather than new.

The backdrop has not changed much. Mortgage News Daily put Treasury yields broadly sideways at long term highs, with the 10-year finishing Friday a hair higher near 5.24%. Keep in mind that bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, so when buyers step in, prices rise, yields fall and mortgage pricing tends to follow. Rates are better than they were a week ago but still well above where they sat at the end of August.

With the bond market closed today and nothing on the data calendar, Wednesday’s inflation report is the first real test of whether last week’s improvement holds. Mortgage News Daily framed next week’s data as the thing that decides whether the move was a false start, and there is no reason to read anything into today’s quiet.

What it means if you are…

Shopping. Rates have come down modestly across several sessions, and the index is at a two week low, but a 2 basis point day is not something to build a plan around. If your quote is more than a few days old, ask for a fresh one before you write an offer, because the figures above are index averages and your own pricing turns on credit profile, loan amount, property type and occupancy. With an inflation report on Wednesday, pricing could look different by midweek in either direction, so keep your pre-approval current and treat the house as the bigger decision.

Refinancing. The government programs are still pricing below conventional, with FHA 30-year at 7.15% and VA 30-year at 7.17% 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 on a flat week, because those programs carry their own reduced documentation paths. Run the refinance savings check on this site with your actual balance and payment, then weigh the result against the full cost of the new loan rather than the rate alone.

Under contract. If your lock expires in the next few weeks, this is a good morning to ask your lender three things: where your lock stands, what an extension costs, and whether your pricing can improve if the index keeps giving ground. Those answers are more useful than any forecast. If you are floating into Wednesday, understand what a surprise in the inflation report would do to your payment before the question becomes urgent.

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

At the index average of 7.48%, principal and interest on a $400,000 loan amortized over 360 payments works out to roughly $2,791.38 a month. The arithmetic: 7.48% divided by 12 gives a monthly rate of about 0.6233%, applied across 360 payments. The first month’s interest alone is $2,493.33 of that payment, which is why equity builds slowly in the early years of a loan at this level.

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

Florida note

Flood insurance in Florida is not a judgment call your lender makes, it is a determination driven by a map, and the map is sometimes wrong about your particular lot. Federal law requires a lender to mandate flood insurance when the building securing the loan sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the high risk zones that begin with A or V on FEMA’s flood maps. The determination arrives as a standard flood hazard determination form, usually produced by a third party vendor reading the map at the parcel level, and it is a yes or no answer about the structure, not about the driveway or the back corner of the yard. Here is where Florida buyers lose money unnecessarily: a lot can be mapped in a high risk zone while the house itself sits on ground above the base flood elevation, often because fill was brought in before the slab was poured. In that situation the owner can petition FEMA for a Letter of Map Amendment, which removes the structure from the high risk zone and ends the lender’s mandatory purchase requirement. FEMA charges nothing to review a Letter of Map Amendment request; the cost is the elevation certificate behind it, which a licensed Florida surveyor prepares, and which commonly runs a few hundred dollars against a premium that can run well into four figures every year. Two practical points. Order the flood determination early, during your inspection period, rather than discovering the requirement in the closing disclosure, because a petition takes weeks and nobody wants to choose between delaying a closing and paying a premium that may not be owed. And if the structure genuinely sits in a high risk zone, your lender must accept a qualifying private flood policy as well as coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program, so it is worth pricing both before you let escrow set your payment for the year.

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.