Jane on Montgomery, AL

NATIONAL MARKET

30-Year Mortgage Rates Hit 7.40% Nationally, the Highest in Nearly Three Years

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate across the U.S. climbed to 7.40% this week, up from 7.28% the week before, according to Freddie Mac figures reported by the Associated Press. It was the seventh weekly increase in a row.

A year ago, the national average was 6.30%. The last time rates were this high was November 16, 2023, when the average reached 7.44%.

These are national averages from Freddie Mac's weekly survey of lenders. The rate any one borrower is offered depends on things like credit score, down payment and loan type.

A difference of more than a full percentage point in a year adds a real amount to a monthly payment on the same loan. That is why many buyers who were pre-approved months ago are asking their lender for updated numbers before they make an offer.

If you're shopping now, it makes sense to compare quotes from several lenders and ask how a rate lock works, since the weekly national average has moved a lot this fall.

Source: Associated Press (link)

NATIONAL MARKET

The National Median Price of a New Home Fell to $393,700 in August, 5.8% Lower Than a Year Ago

Newly built homes across the U.S. sold at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 684,000 in August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. That was 6.4% higher than July's pace of 643,000 and 2% lower than August 2025.

The Census Bureau noted that both changes fall within its margin of error, so it's best to treat them as a sign that sales held fairly steady rather than as a big jump.

New home prices moved more. The national median sales price was $393,700, compared with $417,900 a year earlier. The national average price was $478,700.

About 483,000 new homes were for sale at the end of August, which works out to about 8.5 months of supply at the current pace of sales.

In plain terms, builders nationwide have a lot of finished and in-progress homes to sell, and new home prices are running below last year's levels. For buyers who would consider a new home, that can mean more room to negotiate. These are national figures, and new home prices and supply differ a lot from one market to the next.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (link)

WORTH KNOWING

68% of Homeowners Say They Are Happy With Their Finances, Compared With 47% of Non-Owners

Housing costs have climbed and household budgets feel stretched, so you might guess that owning a home would leave people feeling more squeezed. A recent national survey, reported by Florida Realtors, found the opposite.

Sixty-eight percent of homeowners said they were satisfied with their financial situation. Among people who do not own a home, the figure was 47 percent. That is a gap of 21 percentage points, and it showed up even though homeowners face the same rising costs everyone else does.

The survey does not suggest homeowners have it easy. Money stress was common in both groups. Forty-two percent of homeowners said they live paycheck to paycheck.

For non-homeowners, the number was 61 percent. So a lot of owners are still watching every dollar. They just reported feeling better about where they stand overall.

A survey like this cannot show that buying a home makes anyone happier with their money. People who already feel steady may simply be more likely to buy. Still, the finding is a hopeful counterpoint to all the bad news about costs, and it gives friends and family something to talk about.

If the topic comes up at your next dinner, here is a number you can share: about two out of three homeowners say they are content with their financial picture, even in a period of tight budgets.

Source: Florida Realtors (link)

Jane Doe

KW Realty

(111) 111-1111

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