10/21/2026
🏠 Mortgage rates climbed above 7% last week, and more borrowers started looking for a different way in.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.12%, while adjustable-rate mortgages offered rates more than a percentage point lower. That difference helped push ARMs to 9.8% of all mortgage applications, up from 8.4% two weeks earlier.
🔑 The appeal is easy to understand: an ARM may offer a lower initial rate and monthly payment. But that rate doesn’t stay fixed forever. Once the initial period ends, it can adjust higher or lower depending on where rates are at that time.
Meanwhile, overall mortgage demand fell, with purchase applications down 1% for the week and refinancing applications down 3%.
A lower rate today can be tempting. What it does after the fixed period ends is the part worth thinking through before you sign.
Source:
As mortgage rates rise, borrowers are seeking savings in riskier, adjustable-rate mortgages that offer lower rates.