From the Blog
Mortgage Rates Fell a Third Week to 7.18%: The November Purchase Power Math
The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 7.18% for the week ending November 5, 2026, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the third consecutive weekly decline after averaging 7.24% the prior week and 6.22% a year earlier. That is still a high-cost borrowing environment by recent standards, and it is a real improvement from the 7.40% peak buyers saw in October. Here is what the November rate actually does to a San Antonio payment, and how to decide if the dip changes your move.
The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 7.18% for the week ending November 5, 2026, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the third consecutive weekly decline after averaging 7.24% the prior week and 6.22% a year earlier. That is still a high-cost borrowing environment by recent standards, and it is a real improvement from the 7.40% peak buyers saw in October. Here is what the November rate actually does to a San Antonio payment, and how to decide if the dip changes your move.
Don't Make This Huge Mistake When Purchasing A Home In San Antonio More videos are on my channel .
Three straight weekly declines in one number
Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.18% for the week ending November 5, the third consecutive weekly drop, after a run that touched 7.40% in October. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.57% the same week. A year earlier the 30-year averaged 6.22%, so buyers are still paying meaningfully more than they would have in late 2025, but the direction has shifted, and direction matters more than any single week for planning a purchase.
What 7.18% does to a $300,000 payment
As an illustration, on a $300,000 purchase with 10% down, a 30-year fixed loan near 7.18% carries principal and interest of roughly $1,830 a month. The same loan at October's 7.40% mark runs about $1,870, so the recent dip saves about $40 a month, roughly $14,400 over a 30-year term before taxes and insurance. The same house financed at last November's 6.22% would cost about $1,660 a month, about $170 less than at today's rate. The gap to last year is the reason payment math, not the weekly headline, should drive the go-or-wait decision.
Every payment below is before property taxes and homeowners insurance, which follow the address, not the rate.
What the run-down changes, and what it does not
A falling rate improves purchase power, and in San Antonio it stacks with the market's other tailwinds: about 26.8% of local listings carried a price cut in late September, the highest share in Texas, and NAHB surveys show most builders still leaning on incentives. But weekly averages hide lender-to-lender spread, points, and lock timing, and no one can promise the third decline becomes a fourth. The honest frame is simple: if the monthly payment at 7.18% works in your budget, the rate no longer has to wait for perfection.
- Get a loan estimate, not a rate quote, and compare the same day with at least two lenders.
- Ask what a 30-year fixed runs versus a 7/6 ARM, because the ARM gap has been wide.
- Decide on points and buydowns with your lender before you shop homes, not after.
The plan for November buyers
Lock a rate you can live with when you have a contract, because trying to time a weekly survey is a gamble with your moving date. Use the current leverage on price and incentives first: in this market the negotiation is on price, closing costs, and rate buydowns, and that is where the monthly savings actually live.
Written by Phyllis Domingo
REALTOR® · TX License 745926 · 100+ homes sold · Helping families move well in San Antonio and the Hill Country since long before the hard part became normal.
Have a question about this topic?
Every family's situation is different. Send me a note and I will respond personally, usually within a business day.