Mortgage Rates Today, October 15, 2026 (index as of Oct 14 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: 7.45% (-0.01 on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 14, 2026
• 15-year fixed: 7.14% (no change on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 14, 2026
• 30-year FHA: 7.13% (no change on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 14, 2026
• 30-year VA: 7.15% (no change on the day), Mortgage News Daily, as of October 14, 2026

Freddie Mac weekly survey: 7.40%, survey dated Oct 15. 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 7.62%, unchanged on the day, and the 7/6 SOFR adjustable rate came in at 6.85%, down 0.03. 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 5.07% as of this writing, down roughly 10 basis points on the day, with the 2-year near 4.74%. Two reports landed at 8:30 Eastern this morning. September producer prices rose 1.3% on the month against an August reading of 0.5%, and 6.3% over the year, which wire reporting described as the fastest annual pace since December 2022 and well above a consensus nearer 0.5% on the month and 5.3% over the year. The narrower measure that strips out foods, energy and trade services rose 0.5% on the month against 0.3% in August, and 5.0% over the year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, released October 15). September retail and food services sales rose 0.8% on the month, where forecasters had looked for about 0.3%, after a 1.3% August gain, and were up 6.3% over the year (Census Bureau, released October 15).

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

What moved rates

The figures above are Wednesday’s close, not this morning’s, and Wednesday was one of the stranger sessions of the month. Per Mortgage News Daily, Fed rate expectations leapt higher in the morning after inflation came in hotter than expected, and the daily average moved about a tenth of a percentage point higher in the first few hours, which Mortgage News Daily called a very big move for a single day. Bonds then recovered steadily through the afternoon, and the average lender finished the day 1 basis point lower than Tuesday. Mortgage News Daily headlined the session an epic round trip and offered a heavy stock selloff as something that would help explain the recovery, while framing that as a plausible explanation rather than a confirmed one.

The practical lesson in that round trip is about timing rather than direction. A borrower who was quoted at mid morning on Wednesday saw a materially worse number than a borrower quoted at the close of the same day, on the same file, with nothing about the file having changed. That is why a quote carries a timestamp and why lenders can reprice during the day when the bond market moves far enough.

One basis point is not a move in any meaningful sense, and the daily 30-year index has now spent several sessions in a narrow band near its best levels in about two weeks. What has not changed is the level. The reading is still well above where it sat over the summer, so the comparison that matters for most borrowers is not against last week but against the rate on the loan they already have.

What the figures above cannot show is this morning. The two reports described in the numbers section both landed after Wednesday’s close, and both came in hotter or stronger than forecasters expected, while the 10-year Treasury yield is lower as of this writing. Tomorrow’s post will carry the daily index reading for today’s session, which is where that combination shows up in the mortgage numbers.

What it means if you are…

Shopping. Wednesday’s round trip is the clearest recent illustration of why a rate you were quoted a week ago, or even a few hours earlier in a volatile session, is not the rate available to you now. Get a fresh quote on your own scenario and your own file before you write an offer, and keep your pre-approval current so the payment you are budgeting against reflects this week rather than last month. Ask your lender what their repricing practice is on a day when the bond market moves sharply, so you know whether a morning quote holds.

Refinancing. The government programs are pricing under conventional on this reading: FHA 30-year at 7.13% and VA 30-year at 7.15%, against 7.45% on the 30-year conventional index. If your existing loan is FHA or VA, the streamline paths turn on the loan you already have rather than on a full re-underwrite, so they are worth understanding before you compare quotes. The refinance savings check on this site will run your current payment against a current index reading so you can see whether the gap is wide enough to carry the closing costs. If your reason for refinancing is an insurance or escrow increase rather than the rate itself, say so when you ask, because that changes which options are worth pricing.

Under contract. A one basis point change will not alter your payment in any way you would notice. What is worth your attention in October is the calendar rather than the rate: hurricane season runs through November 30, and the Florida note below covers the one thing that most often stalls a Florida closing at this time of year. If you have a lock in place, it is worth asking your lender where your lock stands and when it expires relative to your closing date, and whether an extension has a cost. If you are not locked, ask what the trade-offs look like on your file specifically.

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

At the 30-year conventional index reading of 7.45%, principal and interest on a $400,000 loan over 360 months works out to about $2,783 a month.

The arithmetic: 7.45% divided by 12 gives a monthly rate of 0.0062083. Compounded over 360 payments, 1.0062083 raised to the 360th power is 9.28213. The payment is $400,000 multiplied by 0.0062083, multiplied by 9.28213, then divided by 8.28213, which comes to $2,783.18.

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

Florida note

The single most common reason a Florida closing slips in October has nothing to do with rates, underwriting or the title work: it is a binding moratorium on new insurance policies. When the National Hurricane Center names a storm and its projected track points anywhere near the state, most Florida carriers, including Citizens, stop writing new homeowners, wind and flood policies until the threat passes. This is carrier underwriting practice rather than a statute, so there is no single rule that governs it. Each company sets its own trigger and its own geography, the pause typically goes up a day or two ahead of a projected track and comes off within a few days after the storm clears, and Citizens posts its suspensions and lifts publicly as binding alerts. Policies already bound are unaffected, which is the whole point of the practice and also the whole point for a buyer. Here is why it reaches your loan: no lender funds a purchase without evidence of a bound hazard policy in place as of the closing date, so if binding is frozen on the morning you were supposed to sign, the closing waits for the moratorium to lift no matter how ready everything else is. The standard Florida Realtors and Florida Bar contract anticipates this. Its force majeure paragraph covers weather events and the related inability to obtain insurance or approvals essential to closing, extends the affected deadlines automatically for a reasonable time after the event stops preventing performance, and puts neither party in default during the delay, with a right for either side to terminate in writing and a return of the deposit if performance stays blocked well beyond the original closing date. Read that paragraph in your own contract rather than relying on a summary of it, because the version and any addenda matter. The practical move is simple and it is entirely within your control: order the four point and wind mitigation inspections early, get quotes early, and bind the policy as soon as your carrier will let you rather than in the last week before closing. A policy bound in week two of a contract is immune to a storm that forms in week four. A policy that is still a quote is not.

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.