Mortgage Rates Hit 7.28%: What San Antonio Buyers Should Know This October

If the rate news has you wondering whether deals still exist, this is the video I send buyers who are doing the math at today's rates.

On my channel: How to Find GOOD Deals in the San Antonio Market Right Now as a Relocator

The number, straight from Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% for the week of October 1, 2026, up from 7.03% the prior week and from 6.34% a year earlier. That is the highest weekly average since November 2023. The jump is a real event, not a rounding difference, and it is the kind of number that makes buyers pause. Pausing is fine. Sitting out indefinitely because of a rate you cannot control is the move I would question.

What 7.28% does to a monthly payment

The honest math, with stated assumptions: a 30-year fixed loan at 7.28%, 20% down, principal and interest only, before property taxes and insurance. On a $300,000 home, the loan is $240,000 and the payment runs about $1,642 a month. At 6.34% a year ago, the same loan was about $1,492. That is roughly $150 a month, or about $1,800 a year, on the same house. On a $400,000 home, the same comparison runs from about $1,989 a year ago to about $2,190 today, roughly $200 a month more. The payment is higher, and it is also knowable: run it at today's rate, not at a rate you hope for.

Why the jump matters more than the level

Rates moved about a quarter point in a single week, from 7.03% to 7.28%, and that kind of fast move matters for timing because it changes payments while you are still deciding. The honest truth is that nobody can tell you where rates go next, and the people who claim certainty are guessing. What you can control is the decision to get pre-approved now, lock a rate when you are comfortable, and structure the deal so a future refinance is easy if rates fall.

What still moves the needle for buyers

At higher rates, the levers change. Lender credits can buy a lower rate in exchange for a higher cost, and points can do the reverse, so comparing two lenders on the same loan amount and rate is the single most valuable hour in the process. Builder rate buydowns are also common right now, and they can cut the early years of a payment substantially, though the fine print matters. And a smaller home or a slightly farther suburb changes the payment more than a rate change ever will.

• Builder rate buydowns and closing cost credits: the fine print

The San Antonio context

San Antonio's median sale price held just above $299,000 in August 2026, unchanged year over year, with inventory still growing, per SABOR. A flat price market offsets part of the rate increase: the same budget buys the same house it did a year ago, the payment is just higher. That is different from a market where prices are also climbing, and it is a genuinely workable window for buyers who run the numbers at today's rate.

• My August market update: sales up 4%, prices flat
• The earlier 2026 rates guide: what to do now

The honest plan

Get pre-approved with a Texas lender who knows the market, compare two or three lenders on the same terms, and decide on the house and the neighborhood first, with the rate as one input, not the whole decision. If rates fall later, refinancing is a normal, well-trodden step. If they do not, you still bought the right house at a payment you planned for. That is the plan I walk every client through, and it works in any rate environment.