Summer Is Over: What Buyers Can Realistically Expect This Fall After Rates Surge to 2026 High

Last week, mortgage rates spiked to their highest level in over a year. Fresh conflict in the Middle East sparked renewed inflation worries, triggering a massive sell-off in global bond markets and pushing borrowing costs up.According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed rate ticked up from 6.66% to 6.71%—the highest mark since late July 2025. To put that in perspective, buyers were looking at an average of 6.50% this time last year.Mortgage rates along with seasonality have long shaped the housing market, and with autumn just around the corner, many prospective buyers may have hoped that the fall season would bring about less competition and better prices. The good news is, both of those may still turn out to be true. But when it comes to mortgage rates, the Realtor.com® economists foresee a stalled-out road ahead. Mortgage rates through the end of 2026Heading into the fall selling season, both Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale and senior economist Jake Krimmel agree that rates will likely stay in the 6% range through the end of the year, echoing their midyear forecast.“Rates are now running above their 2025 levels, and that looks set to continue through the end of 20...