U.S. mortgage rates climbed again just days before the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting, adding another affordability challenge for homebuyers already facing high borrowing costs and a slow housing market.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.76% for the week ending September 10, up from 6.71% one week earlier, according to Freddie Mac’s September 10 Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The average 15-year fixed rate also increased, rising to 6.09% from 6.04%.
The increase means the 30-year rate has now risen for three consecutive weekly readings. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage-rate archive, the average moved from 6.66% on August 27 to 6.71% on September 3 and then to 6.76% on September 10. A year earlier, the average was 6.35%.
That puts mortgage borrowing costs at their highest weekly reading since June 26, 2025, when Freddie Mac reported a 6.77% average. Rates were 6.75% on July 17, 2025, and remained below the current 6.76% level after that point through the rest of 2025, based on Freddie Mac’s 2025 historical PMMS data.
The timing matters because Federal Reserve officials begin their next two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, September 15. The FOMC decision is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by a press conference at 2:30 p.m., according to the Federal Reserve’s official 2026 FOMC calendar. The meeting will also include a new Summary of Economic Projections.
The Fed has not yet made its September decision.
At its last meeting on July 29, the FOMC kept the federal funds target range at 3.50% to 3.75%. The Federal Reserve’s July 29 FOMC statement shows that the decision was made by a 9-3 vote, with Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan preferring a quarter-percentage-point increase.
Investozora previously reported on the growing disagreement inside the Fed in its analysis of the September rate decision. That earlier story focused on the policy debate itself. The new development here is different: mortgage borrowing costs have moved materially higher immediately before the Fed meets.
Mortgage rates do not move automatically with the federal funds rate. The Fed controls a short-term policy rate, while fixed mortgage rates are influenced by longer-term market rates, inflation expectations, credit conditions and other factors.
Those longer-term borrowing costs have also moved higher. According to the Treasury Department’s daily par yield curve data, the 10-year Treasury par yield rose from 4.77% on September 3 to 4.95% on September 10 and 4.96% on September 11.
That increase does not prove Treasury yields alone caused the move in Freddie Mac’s mortgage average, but the two developments are moving in the same direction as investors reassess inflation and interest-rate risk. The final major inflation readings before the Fed meeting have added to that uncertainty.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on September 11 that consumer prices increased 0.4% in August after rising 0.1% in July. The BLS August Consumer Price Index report also showed that CPI was 3.4% higher than a year earlier. Gasoline prices increased 3.9% during August, while core prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3% for the month and 2.4% over 12 months.
One day earlier, the BLS August Producer Price Index report showed that the Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.4% in August and 5.4% over the previous 12 months.
Those numbers are evidence of current inflation conditions. They do not establish what the Fed will decide Wednesday. For borrowers, even a relatively small rate move changes the monthly cost of financing a home.
An Investozora calculation shows that a $400,000, 30-year mortgage at 6.76% would carry principal-and-interest payments of about $2,597 a month. At last week’s 6.71% rate, the same loan would be about $2,584. That is roughly $13 more each month from the latest five-basis-point increase alone.
Compared with the 6.35% Freddie Mac average recorded one year earlier, the difference is larger. The same $400,000 mortgage at 6.35% would have principal-and-interest payments of about $2,489 a month, roughly $108 less than at 6.76%.
These are Investozora calculations using Freddie Mac’s published rates and a standard fully amortizing 30-year loan. They exclude property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, closing costs, fees and points, and they are not individual lender quotes.
The rate available to a specific borrower can differ substantially from Freddie Mac’s national average because lenders price loans according to factors including credit profile, down payment, loan structure and market conditions.
Freddie Mac explains in its PMMS methodology and weighting documentation that the survey is based on mortgage applications submitted through its Loan Product Advisor system and represents national weekly averages rather than a guaranteed consumer offer. Higher borrowing costs are arriving while the housing market is already struggling with weak transaction volume.
The National Association of Realtors reported September 10 that existing-home sales fell 2.0% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million. According to the NAR August existing-home sales report, sales were 1.2% lower than a year earlier, while inventory increased to 1.62 million homes. The median existing-home price was $429,100, up 1.6% from August 2025.
For buyers who have not locked a mortgage rate, Wednesday’s Fed decision is only one event to watch. The policy statement, new economic projections, Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference, Treasury-market reaction and subsequent inflation data can all affect expectations for longer-term rates.
A Fed rate increase would therefore not mean mortgage rates must rise by the same amount. Likewise, a decision to hold rates would not guarantee lower mortgages.
Investozora’s deeper guide on how Federal Reserve rate decisions can affect mortgage borrowing explains why the relationship between the federal funds rate and a 30-year home loan is indirect rather than one-for-one.
For now, the verified position is clear: Freddie Mac’s latest weekly benchmark has risen to 6.76%, the highest reading since June 2025, while the Federal Reserve’s September decision remains unresolved.
The next major change to this story will come Wednesday, September 16, when the FOMC announces its policy decision and markets respond.
