1. Freddie Mac, November 5: the 30-year mortgage at 7.18%
The average 30-year fixed rate was 7.18% this week, down from 7.24% a week earlier. The 15-year fixed rate was 6.57%, down from 6.60%. Freddie Mac calls it the third consecutive weekly decline. A year ago the two rates were 6.22% and 5.50%, so loans are still about a point more expensive than last fall.
For scale: Freddie Mac's 30-year average for all of October was 7.33%, and the rate touched 7.40% early in the month, the highest since 2023, NAHB wrote on November 3. So this week is a little better than October, not a return to last year.
Why a small contractor should care: a client who pays for a kitchen or an addition with a loan feels every step. Three small drops in a row will not change a budget, but they give a hesitant homeowner a reason to pick the project up again.
2. October: mortgage applications down 14.1%, refinances down 17.3%
NAHB, using the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey, reported on November 4 that total mortgage applications fell 14.1% in October from September (seasonally adjusted) and were 39.8% below October 2025. Refinance applications fell 17.3% in the month and were 58.5% below a year ago. Purchase applications fell 11.9%. The share of adjustable-rate loans rose to 10.8%.
The two sources measure rates a little differently: in MBA's survey the 30-year contract rate averaged 7.4% in October, in Freddie Mac's 7.33%. Both show October as the expensive month.
Why it matters: some homeowners pay for a remodel with a cash-out refinance. Far fewer refinances means fewer clients with a fresh check from the bank, and more clients who need to split the job or find another way to pay.
What to do this week
Open your list of estimates that the client opened but did not sign in the last two months, and call each one. Ask if the project is still on, and offer a smaller first phase if the total was the problem. Do not tell anyone which loan to take; that is a talk for the client and their lender.
Where WorkTime CRM helps with this
Estimates in WorkTime CRM show what the client did with each one, opened or not, signed or not, so the list for those calls is already there. If you add a lender link in Settings → Company → Payments → Financing for Clients, every estimate from $1,000 shows the client a "See financing options" button, and you get an alert when they press it.
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