Rubbish Check
ABC News Business · 24 September 2026
source“Mortgage rates climb for 5th straight week, pushing average rate on a 30-year home loan above 7%”
R1/ 10
Base fact
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates ABC News's claim that mortgage rates climbed for a fifth straight week to top 7% a 1/10 because the figures match Freddie Mac's PMMS release exactly, with no cherry-picking or missing context.
The Verdict
Base fact. The headline states precisely what Freddie Mac reported, a fifth consecutive weekly rise pushing the 30-year average above 7%, and the body immediately supplies the comparison points (prior week, year-ago rate, last time this level was hit) that let readers judge scale for themselves. Nothing is buried or spun here.
What actually happened
Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed-rate average rising to 7.03%, its first time above 7% since January 2025. This capped a five-week run of increases. The 15-year fixed rate, used mostly by refinancers, also rose.
Key facts
- 30-year fixed average: 7.03%, up from 6.95% the prior week, per Freddie Mac's PMMS.
- 30-year rate is the highest since January 16, 2025, when it stood at 7.04%.
- A year earlier (Sept 2025), the 30-year average was 6.30%, roughly 73 basis points lower.
- 15-year fixed average: 6.42%, up from 6.26% the prior week; a year ago it was 5.49%.
- Rise marks a fifth consecutive weekly increase.
What to watch for
Watch whether the run extends to six weeks or reverses, and whether purchase-application data (MBA weekly index) starts showing buyers pulling back as the 7% threshold holds. Also worth tracking: any Fed commentary or Treasury yield moves that are driving the mortgage-rate climb, since that context determines whether this is a blip or a trend.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
