Every buyer wants to know where mortgage rates are headed. The honest answer: nobody reliably knows, and this page will not pretend to. What you can control is the file a lender sees. That preparation moves your approval odds, and often your rate, more than waiting on headlines ever does.
What lenders actually look at
Four things decide most approvals: your credit history, your debt-to-income ratio (how much of your monthly income already goes to payments), your down payment, and how cleanly you can document your income and savings. None of them improves overnight. That is why the right time to sit down with a lender is before you start touring homes, not after you have fallen for one.
For context, not prediction: in the week of October 15, 2026, Freddie Mac’s weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40 percent. That number moves weekly. The gap between what an average file is offered and what a well-prepared file is offered is the part you can actually work on.
Pre-approval beats pre-qualification
A pre-qualification is an estimate built from what you tell the lender. A pre-approval means the lender checked your documents and will put a number in writing. In a competitive offer, that carries real weight with sellers. Pre-approvals expire, so ask your lender how long yours lasts and time it to your search.
The questions buyers ask us
Does checking my own credit hurt my score? No. A soft inquiry does not lower it, and the credit myths guide walks through the misconceptions that actually cost buyers money.
How long does a pre-approval last? It expires, usually with the 90-day life of the credit report, and the pre-approval life-span post covers what can cancel one while you are still looking.
How much do I really need down? It depends on the loan program, so ask the lender instead of trusting a rule of thumb. Some programs require part of the money to be your own.
What does buyer representation cost? Our fee structure is public and reviewed in your first consultation: the buyer representation pricing page has it in writing.
If you rent with us today
Croskey Real Estate runs a Tenant-to-Buyer Program: a path from renting to owning for tenants currently renting with us. It includes a home warranty package and money back for a home inspection bundle. To qualify you need a good rental account standing and no lease violations in the past twelve months. The program uses our Home Buying Specialist and our preferred lender, and asks for a one-time yard cleanup and deep clean when you leave the rental. The details live on our solutions page.
One more thing we publish that most brokerages do not: our buyer-representation fees are laid out up front, never negotiated behind closed doors. When you are ready, the buy page explains how we work with buyers from pre-approval all the way to keys, and our current listings show what is on the market right now.
Croskey Real Estate is a licensed California real estate brokerage (DRE #01990430), not a mortgage lender. Loan terms, rates, and qualification decisions belong to your lender.
- Educational Series
- Owner
- Real Estate
- Seller
