1. Freddie Mac, October 22: the 30-year fixed fell to 7.32%
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.32% in the week to October 22, down from 7.40% a week earlier and up from 6.19% a year ago, Freddie Mac reported. The 15-year averaged 6.68%, down from 6.71%.
In Freddie Mac's weekly history it is the first decline since August 20. From 6.65% that week the rate rose every week to 7.40% on October 8 and held there on October 15.
Why a small contractor should care: many remodels are paid with a home equity loan, a cash-out refinance or a renovation loan, and those prices follow rates. Our reading, not Freddie Mac's: 0.08 of a point does not change a homeowner's monthly payment much, and the rate is still well above August. One week is not a trend. But clients who told you "we will wait for rates" will hear "rates fell" on the news, and some will start asking again.
2. NAHB, October 22: 17.8% of new homes got a deck
Of single-family homes started in 2025, 17.8% had a deck, up from a record low of 17.4% in 2024 and down from 23.8% in 2017, NAHB found in Census data. Patios mostly take the deck's place: in New England 73% of new homes had a deck, in the West South Central division (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas) only 2%, against 77% with a patio. After New England come West North Central (43%), Middle Atlantic (36%) and East South Central (29%).
By square feet, composite leads in New England and the East North Central states, treated wood in the South Atlantic, East South Central and Mountain divisions, the two are about even in the Middle Atlantic and West North Central, and concrete leads in West South Central and the Pacific. In NAHB's remodeler survey for the fourth quarter of 2025, decks tied for sixth among the most common projects.
Why it matters: these are new homes, not remodels, but they show what buyers near you are used to. Where composite leads, a wood-only bid can look cheap in the wrong way.
What to do this week
- 01Make a list of clients who paused a job because of a loan or "the rates". Call the ones with the biggest jobs. Do not promise a rate: the lender quotes it. Ask whether the project is still on their list, and offer a smaller first phase.
- 02On your next deck estimate, price both treated wood and composite, so the client chooses instead of comparing you with someone who offered the other one.
Where WorkTime CRM helps with this
On the Pipeline, a client you move to Rejected with the reason "Financing fell through" or "Postponed" gets a call-back on your Calendar after 90 days, and you can type your own days. For the deck, switch on 3 options on estimates: composite decking and decks move between Basic, Standard and Premium, and the client picks one.
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