Mortgage Rates Ease to 7.32% in First Weekly Dip Since August as Florida Home Sales Slow

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 7.32% this week, down from 7.40%, the first weekly decline since late August, Freddie Mac reported Thursday, Oct. 22. The small dip offers Florida buyers a sliver of relief in a housing market where sales have slowed, home prices have held roughly flat and the cost of borrowing is still more than a full percentage point higher than it was a year ago.

A year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 6.19%. The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 6.68% from 6.71% last week, compared with 5.44% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

"The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined this week, offering some relief to prospective homebuyers," Freddie Mac said.

Weeks of climbing, then a pause

The pullback follows a steep run-up that began in early September. The 30-year average climbed from 6.66% at the end of August to 7.40% by early October, its highest level in nearly three years, and held there for two weeks before easing this week. The table below shows Freddie Mac's weekly averages since the start of September.

Rates have been rising since late February, when the U.S. war with Iran began, pushing up oil prices and inflation, according to the Associated Press. In late February, the 30-year rate had briefly dipped to 5.98%, its lowest since late 2022. Bond market volatility has also lifted the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide for pricing home loans. That yield climbed above 5.30% earlier this month, its highest level since 2002, before easing to about 5% midday Thursday, AP reported. It was 3.97% before the war.

What the rate means for a Florida buyer

The difference between this year's low and today's rate is significant for a typical Florida purchase. On a home at the statewide single-family median of $415,000 with 20% down, a buyer would borrow $332,000. At 7.32%, the monthly principal and interest payment on that loan comes to about $2,281, compared with about $2,031 at last year's 6.19% and about $1,986 at February's 5.98%, according to a standard 30-year amortization calculation. That is roughly $250 to $295 more a month before property taxes, insurance and any condo or homeowners association fees.

Nationally, AP calculated that the increase since February adds about $355 a month for a borrower with a $400,000 loan. Individual rates vary based on income, credit score and other factors.

Higher borrowing costs have kept the national market stuck as well. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year at a 30-year low, and the market has been in a slump since 2022, AP reported, with higher rates limiting how much house buyers can afford. Many existing owners who locked in rates below 4% earlier in the decade have little incentive to sell and take on a new loan at more than 7%.

Florida sales slip as prices hold

Florida's housing market has been absorbing those higher costs. Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes fell 3.5% in September from a year earlier, to 20,537, according to Florida Realtors' monthly report released Oct. 16. Pending sales, an indicator of future closings, were down more than 7.5%.

"So, we now find ourselves with a second straight month of declining year-over-year sales," said Brad O'Connor, chief economist for Florida Realtors. "Higher mortgage rates are weighing on sales, particularly in the single-family market," he said. He added that the story "remains one of a housing market that has lost some momentum, but certainly hasn't fallen apart."

Prices have not fallen. The statewide median sale price for single-family homes was $415,000 in September, up 1.2% from a year earlier and the seventh straight month of annual gains. Single-family supply stood at 4.4 months, and Florida Realtors said inventory had tightened compared with a year ago.

For the third quarter as a whole, single-family sales were essentially flat, up 0.2% to 65,904, and the median price rose 2.4% to $420,000.

The condo market remains the soft spot

Florida's condo and townhouse market is in a weaker position. Closed sales were virtually unchanged in September at 7,179, eight fewer than a year earlier, but pending sales fell 3.5% and the median price dropped nearly 2%, to $293,500. Supply reached 7.7 months, well above the single-family market and a level that generally favors buyers.

The quarterly picture for condos was steadier. Third-quarter condo and townhouse sales rose 3.1% from a year earlier to 22,664, and the median price was flat at $295,000, Florida Realtors said. Dollar volume, the total value of sales, was up 13% year to date for condos and townhouses and more than 10% for single-family homes, a sign that higher-priced transactions are still closing even as unit sales soften.

Condo buyers face added costs beyond the mortgage. Since the 2021 Surfside collapse, state law has required older buildings to complete structural inspections and fully fund reserves for major repairs, and many associations have raised monthly fees or imposed special assessments to comply.

Insurance: a partial offset

One cost has started to ease. Several insurers filed rate decreases for 2026, Spectrum News reported last December, including a 10% statewide reduction from State Farm. Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort, proposed an average 2.6% cut, its first reduction since 2015, and said 60% of its customers would see an average premium cut of 11.5% if the state approved the plan. Insurance remains among the highest housing costs in the state, however, and savings vary widely by county and ZIP code.

"Today's market rewards preparation and realistic expectations," said Chuck Bonfiglio, the 2026 president of Florida Realtors.

What's next

Freddie Mac releases its next weekly rate survey on Thursday, Oct. 29. Fannie Mae projects the 30-year rate will average 7.4% in the fourth quarter of this year and 7.5% in 2027, AP reported, which suggests buyers should not count on a quick return to the 6% range. Florida Realtors typically publishes the prior month's sales figures in the third week of the month, so October data should arrive in mid-November and will show whether the latest climb in rates further slowed closings across the state.