For a homeowner who has been waiting for the moment to refinance, the past week offered a clear answer: not yet. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.76% in the week ending September 10, up from 6.71% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Borrowers have responded by walking away from the refinance window and, increasingly, borrowing against the home instead.
Chart: RateZip · Source: lender-posted rates tracked daily by RateZip.
The shift is visible on both sides of the market. The refinance index fell 6% to its slowest pace since May 2025 in the week ending Sept. 4, while total application volume dropped 2.7% and purchase applications were roughly flat, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey. Joel Kan, the MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist, put it plainly in a statement: "Mortgage rates moved higher last week, driven by ongoing investor concerns over inflation and the federal budget deficit,"
Where the demand went
RateZip's own Mortgage Demand Index, built from the mortgage inquiries consumers submit across our network, shows the same homeowners are not sitting still. August inquiry volume was 11% higher than July's and 157% higher than August 2025's. The composition tells the story: home-equity products, meaning HELOCs plus reverse mortgages, drew 76% of inquiries over the three months through August, versus 43% in the same months a year earlier. Refinance went from 39% of the mix to 2%.
The pricing pressure has not been limited to the 30-year loan. Bank of America raised its posted 20-year fixed rate to 7.125% on Tuesday, its fourth increase in the past three weeks, leaving that product up 0.375 points over the stretch. Adjustable-rate loans have been moving too: U.S. Bank's posted 7/6 ARM is up 0.75 points over the past week, even as the MBA reported the ARM share of applications rose to 8.5%.
For buyers still in the market, the lender they choose matters more than the day's headlines. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive posted 30-year rate in RateZip's tracked set is 1.135 points, with AmeriSave at 5.99% and Rocket Mortgage at 7.125%. On a $400,000 loan that spread is about $299 a month.
A thinner market and a Fed decision
The backdrop for buyers is softening. August existing-home sales fell 2.0% to a 3.98 million annual rate, while inventory rose to 1.62 million units, up 5.9% year over year, and months' supply reached 4.9, the highest in more than a decade, according to NAR figures reported by Mortgage News Daily.
All of it now turns on Washington. The 10-year Treasury yield, the benchmark long-term mortgage pricing most closely tracks, closed Friday at 4.96%, up 18 basis points over the past week, per FRED. The Federal Open Market Committee meets Sept. 15-16 with its statement due Wednesday; at the July meeting the Fed held the funds rate steady while three voters preferred a quarter-point hike, and August CPI rose 0.4% for the month and 3.4% year over year, according to WRE News. For homeowners weighing a HELOC and buyers eyeing that lender spread, Wednesday's statement is the next number that counts.
Today's posted rates: the full table
| Lender | 30-Yr | 15-Yr | 20-Yr | FHA 30-Yr | VA 30-Yr | Jumbo 30-Yr | 7/6 ARM | HELOC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmeriSave | 5.99% / 6.493% | 5.125% / 5.985% | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New American Funding | 6.75% / 6.866% | 6.125% / 6.316% | — | 6.25% / 7.287% | 6.375% / 6.806% | — | — | — |
| Rocket Mortgage | 7.125% / 7.423% | 6.375% / 6.86% | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wells Fargo | 7% / 7.161% | 6.25% / 6.505% | — | — | 6.375% / 6.617% | — | 6.625% / 6.662% | — |
| U.S. Bank | 6.99% / 7.175% | 6.49% / 6.748% (+0.115) | 6.99% / 7.194% (+0.115) | 6.99% / 7.89% | 6.75% / 7.127% | 7.25% / 7.411% (+0.125) | 7.25% / 7.092% | — |
| Bank of America | 7.125% / 7.376% | 6.375% / 6.774% | 7.125% / 7.427% (+0.125) | — | — | — | 6.5% / 6.669% | — |
| Veterans United | — | — | — | — | 6.375% / 6.832% (+0.125) | — | — | — |
| FourLeaf Federal Credit Union | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6.75% / 6.75% |
Rates are each lender's own published rate as of 9:50 a.m. ET, collected from their public rate pages and feeds. The APR is the better cross-lender comparison; a figure in parentheses is today's change; a '—' means the lender doesn't post that product. How we collect and publish this: our rate methodology.
Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey via FRED®, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.