A year ago, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.27%, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. In the week of October 15, 2026, it was 7.40%. That's 1.13 percentage points, and on a mortgage it compounds over 30 years.
To isolate the rate, this table holds the house constant: today's typical list price in each city, 20% down, 30-year fixed. Only the rate changes.
Same home, two rates
| City | Typical list price | Payment at 6.27% | Payment at 7.40% | Difference a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | $973,000 | $4,803 | $5,389 | +$586 |
| San Diego, CA | $907,000 | $4,477 | $5,024 | +$547 |
| New York, NY | $893,000 | $4,408 | $4,946 | +$538 |
| Seattle, WA | $820,000 | $4,048 | $4,542 | +$494 |
| Boston, MA | $805,000 | $3,974 | $4,459 | +$485 |
| Denver, CO | $639,000 | $3,154 | $3,539 | +$385 |
| Washington, DC | $630,000 | $3,110 | $3,490 | +$380 |
| Sacramento, CA | $506,000 | $2,498 | $2,803 | +$305 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $502,000 | $2,478 | $2,781 | +$303 |
| Portland, OR | $495,000 | $2,443 | $2,742 | +$299 |
| Chicago, IL | $493,000 | $2,434 | $2,731 | +$297 |
| Austin, TX | $489,000 | $2,414 | $2,709 | +$295 |
| Nashville, TN | $469,000 | $2,315 | $2,598 | +$283 |
| Fresno, CA | $446,000 | $2,202 | $2,470 | +$268 |
| Charlotte, NC | $437,000 | $2,157 | $2,421 | +$264 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $404,000 | $1,994 | $2,238 | +$244 |
| Dallas, TX | $387,000 | $1,910 | $2,144 | +$234 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $384,000 | $1,895 | $2,127 | +$232 |
| Houston, TX | $347,000 | $1,713 | $1,922 | +$209 |
| Louisville, KY | $333,000 | $1,644 | $1,844 | +$200 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $319,000 | $1,575 | $1,767 | +$192 |
| San Antonio, TX | $288,000 | $1,422 | $1,595 | +$173 |
| Columbus, OH | $268,000 | $1,323 | $1,484 | +$161 |
| Baltimore, MD | $254,000 | $1,254 | $1,407 | +$153 |
| Tucson, AZ | $252,000 | $1,244 | $1,396 | +$152 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $231,000 | $1,140 | $1,280 | +$140 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $217,000 | $1,071 | $1,202 | +$131 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $189,000 | $933 | $1,047 | +$114 |
| Memphis, TN | $176,000 | $869 | $975 | +$106 |
| Detroit, MI | $116,000 | $573 | $643 | +$70 |
Payments are principal and interest only. Taxes and insurance don't depend on the rate, so they don't change the difference.
Reading the numbers
The cost scales with price. The same 1.13 points adds $70 a month on Detroit's typical $116,000 home and $586 on Los Angeles's $973,000 home. Over a year in Los Angeles, that's $7,032.
Falling prices offset some of it, in some places. List prices are down on a year ago in 19 of these cities. In Tucson, AZ (down 10% or more) and Philadelphia, PA (-8.1%), the lower price absorbs much of the higher rate. In Chicago, IL, list prices are up 5.4%, so buyers pay more on both counts. Each city's one-year change is on the home value forecast by city.
Rates can fall as well as rise. In January 2026 the same survey was near 6.1%. Locking in today's rate and refinancing later is a common plan, but a refinance costs money and depends on rates actually falling. Plan with a payment you can carry at today's rate.
Should you wait for rates to drop?
Nobody knows the next move. What you can know is your own break-even: the payment you can carry, how long you'll stay, and whether local prices are rising or falling. Should you buy now or wait walks through that, and how interest rates change affordability shows how buying power shifts with each point.
Sources
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey via FRED (series MORTGAGE30US): 6.27% for October 16, 2025; 7.40% for October 15, 2026; 6.06%–6.16% in January 2026.
- City figures are RentCast market data for each city's most populous ZIP codes, as of October 14, 2026, counting only ZIP codes with at least 20 active listings. They're averages of ZIP medians, not appraisals.
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