Mortgage Rates Fall to 7.30%, Halting Housing Demand Slide in Late October
Updated
Updated · HousingWire · Oct 24
Mortgage Rates Fall to 7.30%, Halting Housing Demand Slide in Late October
3 articles · Updated · HousingWire · Oct 24
Summary
Pending home sales rose slightly last week after mortgage rates eased from about 7.60% to 7.30%, marking the first pause in housing demand’s decline in late October.
The drop followed a pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield to below 5%, with the report saying fears of 8% or 9% mortgage rates have faded for now as long as 5.35% holds.
Demand still remains weak by recent standards: pending sales were 52,490 versus 67,752 a year earlier, and purchase applications continued falling week over week and year over year.
Supply is rising as higher rates cool buyers, with inventory climbing to 911,956 from 905,166 in the latest week and price cuts reaching 43%, up from 42% a year earlier.
The outlook for the rest of 2026 hinges on oil prices, the Iran conflict, AI-driven credit conditions and this week’s Fed meeting, all of which could push rates back up.