Central Florida Market Update — September 28, 2026: Rates Cross 7% for the First Time in a Year. Here's What It Actually Costs.

Monday, September 28, 2026 · Clermont & Central Florida · Troy Boss, REALTOR®, LIFESTYLE International Realty

The headline: 7.03%

Freddie Mac's weekly survey came in Thursday at 7.03% for the 30-year fixed, up from 6.95% the week before and from 6.30% a year ago. The 15-year fixed moved to 6.42%. That is the first reading above 7% in more than a year, and it lands three weeks after rates were being talked about as "heading down." Freddie Mac's chief economist, Sam Khater, put it plainly: "The housing market remains supported by a solid labor market and an economy that is growing at a healthy rate." Translation: the economy is strong enough that the bond market isn't in a hurry to give us cheaper money.

What 7% actually costs in Clermont

Numbers, not adjectives. On a $460,000 home (Clermont's current median) with 20% down, the principal-and-interest payment at this week's rate is about $2,456 a month. Last week it was $2,436, so the week-over-week move is about $20. A year ago, at 6.30%, the same loan ran about $2,278, so the year-over-year difference is roughly $178 a month.

That's real money, and I won't pretend otherwise. But notice what it isn't: it isn't the difference between buying and not buying. It's the difference between a $2,278 payment and a $2,456 payment on the same house. If a home was affordable for you at $2,300, it is very likely still affordable at $2,450, and the people who pause every time the rate ticks up are the same people who were priced out of the 2021 market by waiting for 2020's rates to come back.

Orlando: the metro tipped into balance

The Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association's most recent report (August) shows the metro at 4.9 months of supply, up from 4.4, with 12,144 homes on the market and 2,478 closed sales, down 8.9% from July. Median sale price: $400,676. Six months of supply is the textbook line for a balanced market; at 4.9 the metro is closer to that line than it has been in years. Buyers have more to choose from and more room to negotiate than at any point since 2021.

Clermont: still tighter than Orlando

Clermont's numbers haven't refreshed since the July reporting period, so treat these as the most recent official read rather than this week's: median sale price $460,000 (up 4.6% year over year), 67 median days on market, 1.8 months of supply, and a 98.13% sale-to-list ratio with about one in nine homes selling above asking. Read those against Orlando's 4.9 months and the story is the same one I've been telling all summer: Clermont is a tighter market than the metro around it. That is why a correctly priced home here still sells in weeks while the same house ten miles east sits.

If you're buying

Three things. First, get the real number, not the internet number: a 15-minute conversation with a lender tells you what 7.03% means for your budget, and it costs nothing. Second, with Orlando in balance, ask for things: seller-paid closing costs, a rate buydown, repairs. A year ago those asks got laughed at. Today they get answered. Third, remember that the rate you close at is not the rate you'll have forever. If rates fall next year, you refinance. If they don't, you already own the house that was going up in value while you waited.

If you're selling

Clermont's 1.8 months of supply is still a seller's number, but 7% rates shrink the pool of buyers who can reach your price. The homes that are selling in 20 days are the ones priced on what sold last month, not on what a neighbor listed for. The homes at 90+ days are almost all pricing decisions. If you want the honest version for your house, two numbers on one page, a cash offer and a list-and-net estimate, I'll put them in writing with no listing conversation attached.

Bottom line

Rates crossed 7%. That costs about $20 more a month than last week and $178 more than last year on a median Clermont home. Orlando is balanced; Clermont is still tight. Buyers have more leverage than they've had in years and should use it. Sellers who price on sold data are still winning. The people who lose in this market are the ones waiting for a number that may not come.

Troy Boss
REALTOR® – LIFESTYLE International Realty, Clermont
315-335-4622 · tboss@bossregroup.com

Sources: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released September 24, 2026 (30-yr 7.03%, 15-yr 6.42%; prior week 6.95% / 6.26%; year-ago 6.30% / 5.49%). Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association, August 2026 market report. Clermont figures: Houzeo/Stellar MLS, July 2026 reporting period (most recent available as of 9/28/26). Payment examples are principal and interest only on a $368,000 loan (20% down on $460,000), for illustration; they exclude taxes, insurance, HOA and mortgage insurance. Lending questions: Frank Pugliese, Columbus Capital Lending, NMLS 1976704. Figures are reported data, not predictions; no outcome is guaranteed. Equal Housing Opportunity.