Mortgage Rates Hit 7.28% — the Highest in a Year. Here's the Real Math for South Florida Buyers

The number every buyer is talking about this week: 7.28%. That's Freddie Mac's weekly average for the week ending October 1 — up a quarter of a point and sitting at the top of its 52-week range (per The Mortgage Reports).

Rates dipped after a weak jobs report, but they're holding near 7.5%, and because lenders reprice with a lag, Friday's bond rally may not even show up in your quotes yet.

So what does 7.28% actually mean for a South Florida buyer? On a $450,000 loan, the difference between 7.28% and 6.5% is roughly $230 a month — real money, but not the difference between buying and not buying. The buyers winning right now are the ones playing offense instead of waiting:

Ask for seller concessions. With homes sitting longer, sellers are increasingly open to covering closing costs or buying down your rate — a 2-1 buydown can put your first-year rate in the 5s.

Marry the house, date the rate. If the home and the price are right, you can refinance when rates come down. You can't go back and buy at today's prices later.

Get pre-approved, not pre-qualified. In this rate environment, sellers take the buyer with the real numbers seriously.

And sellers, this one's for you too: your buyer is doing payment math on every showing. Pricing that leaves room for a rate buydown or concession can be the difference between an offer and a price cut.

Bottom line: 7.28% isn't fun, but it's the market we have — and prepared buyers are still getting deals done. The question isn't whether rates are high. It's whether you have a strategy for them.

Want to run the real numbers on a South Florida home? Call or text Richard Medina at 305-809-6745 / 786-427-3217, or email yourrealestateneeds.fl@gmail.com.