Daily update, Oct 16, 2026: 30-year mortgage rate 7.40%; existing-home sales 3.99 million in September

• Freddie Mac (Oct 15): the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.40%, unchanged from last week and up from 6.27% a year ago. The 15-year averaged 6.71%, down from 6.73% last week and up from 5.52% a year ago. Freddie Mac PMMS
• NAR (Oct 13): existing-home sales rose 1.5% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.99 million and were 2.2% lower than a year earlier. The median price was $417,500, up 1.3% from a year ago (the 39th straight month of year-over-year gains). NAR release
• Inventory was 1.60 million units (+1.9% from August, +4.6% from a year earlier), a 4.8-month supply versus 4.5 months a year earlier. NAR release
• NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, is quoted: August and September were "the two slowest months for home sales this year," and rising mortgage rates "mean fewer buyers can qualify." He also said higher inventory and longer days on market give buyers more negotiating power. NAR release

Sources: the two links above. Note: Freddie Mac's survey covers conventional, conforming purchase loans for borrowers putting 20% down with excellent credit; NAR is a trade association and its commentary is attributed to it. Watch next: Freddie Mac weekly rates (Thursdays); NAR October sales on Thursday, Nov 12, 10 a.m. ET (NAR).

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