The 30-Year Mortgage Rate Is 6.71%, Twenty-One Basis Points Higher Than a Year Ago

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.71% in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey published September 3, 2026. That is five basis points above the prior week's 6.66% and twenty-one basis points above the 6.50% recorded in the same week of 2025.

The 15-year fixed rate averaged 6.04%, up six basis points on the week from 5.98%. Against a year ago the move is larger: the 15-year was 5.60% in the corresponding week of 2025, making the twelve-month increase 44 basis points, roughly double the 21 basis point rise in the 30-year.

The Week's Figures

• 30-year fixed: 6.71%, prior week 6.66%, year ago 6.50%
• 15-year fixed: 6.04%, prior week 5.98%, year ago 5.60%
• Weekly change: 30-year up 5 basis points, 15-year up 6 basis points
• Annual change: 30-year up 21 basis points, 15-year up 44 basis points

The Shorter Term Moved More

The wider annual increase at the 15-year point narrows the gap between the two products. A year ago the spread between the 30-year and 15-year averages was 90 basis points; this week it is 67. The shorter loan is still cheaper in rate terms, but by less than it was, which changes the arithmetic for a borrower weighing a 15-year against a 30-year on monthly payment grounds.

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in the release that purchase demand has remained relatively stable, indicating steady interest from buyers adapting to evolving market conditions.

What Builders Were Saying the Same Week

A separate release on the same day offers an independent read on how rates near this level are landing. In the Institute for Supply Management's August Services report, published September 3, a respondent in the construction industry reported that bond market pressures had pushed mortgage rates to 6.67%, reducing buyer activity as the selling season closes. That is a single anonymous survey comment rather than a data series, but it comes from someone selling into the market rather than surveying it.

Reading a Weekly Series

Five and six basis points are small moves, and a single week rarely establishes a direction. The more durable fact in this release is the annual comparison: a year on from the same week, both averages are higher, not lower. Borrowers who have been waiting for rates to come back to where they were in 2025 have, so far this year, been waiting in the wrong direction.

This article reports published survey figures and does not constitute advice on whether to borrow, refinance, or buy.