If you’re getting a house ready to list, you may have seen that mortgage rates came down last week. They did, a little. Before you count on that to stretch buyers’ budgets, it helps to see what a dip that size actually does to a monthly payment. That’s up first, and then two very different homes that sold on the same day.
THIS WEEK IN THE MARKET · OCTOBER 22 RATE SURVEY
What last week’s rate dip does to a monthly payment
A buyer looking at a $500,000 home with 20% down would borrow $400,000. On a new 30-year fixed loan, last week’s change in the national average would lower principal and interest by about $22 a month.
Freddie Mac’s October 22 reading was 7.32%, down from 7.40% on October 15. At those rates, that example works out to about $2,748 a month instead of $2,770. Taxes and insurance come on top, and this is math on a national average, not a lender’s quote for a particular buyer.
That’s under 1% of the principal-and-interest payment in this example.
Trendlines
1,019 · Bucks homes for sale as of Monday
Active listings in Bright MLS at 5:22 p.m. on October 26, up from 990 a week earlier. Homes marked coming soon or under contract aren’t in that count.
11 days · Typical time on market, last four weeks
The median for the 482 Bucks homes that closed from September 28 to October 25. That’s the same as the four weeks before and up from 9 days for the same weeks a year earlier.
Both figures are from Bright MLS, pulled October 26, and cover Bucks homes from detached houses to condo-style units. Rentals and land aren’t included.
Jim’s Read
I wouldn’t wait on mortgage rates to make the pricing call for you. A dip that small barely moves a buyer’s monthly payment, and one week doesn’t tell you where rates go next. The part you control is the asking price.
The most useful guide to it is the homes a buyer would weigh against yours. The ones for sale near you right now are your competition. Similar ones that closed recently show what buyers actually paid.
The two sales below are worth a look, but they’re different enough that neither one tells you much about the other’s price. What I’d watch next is whether homes like yours are going under contract. A national rate can’t show you that, and buyers don’t all shop the same way, so look at your own town and price range.
Sales That Tell the Story
One is a ranch on about a seventh of an acre. The other comes with seven acres. Both closed October 23. They’re two examples, not a sign of where the county is heading.
BENSALEM TOWNSHIP · RANCH
A 1955 brick ranch, sold for $370,000
Mature trees and shrubs frame this one in Bensalem Township. It closed October 23 for $370,000. The listing calls it an expanded ranch, with an addition that runs the length of the house.
Inside: About 1,326 square feet with one full bathroom. The listing counts three bedrooms and notes the primary was combined into one oversized room that could be converted back.
Outside: The lot is 0.14 acres, and the listing describes a covered front brick patio with lighting.
HAYCOCK TOWNSHIP · FARMHOUSE
Seven acres and a farmhouse, sold for $660,000
The lawn runs well past this white farmhouse in Haycock Township, though the mailing address says Quakertown. It closed October 23 for $660,000. The listing dates the house to 1860 and reports three bedrooms and one full bathroom in about 1,450 square feet.
The land: The property has 7.09 acres. That acreage is part of what separates this example from a compact suburban lot.
The barn: The listing describes a 30-by-50-foot pole barn with electricity.
This Week’s Question
What would you want a closer look at?
Until Next Tuesday
Know someone deciding between a ranch on a small lot and a farmhouse with acreage? Forward them these two sales. If there’s a house feature you’d like me to cover, hit reply and let me know.
Jim
Sources checked October 26: Freddie Mac, October 22 and October 15 national rate surveys; Bright MLS, Bucks County active listings captured the afternoons of October 19 and 26 and closings from September 28 to October 25, compared with the four weeks before and the same weeks in 2025; the linked public Bright MLS-syndicated sale listings and photos for both October 23 sales. Payment example calculated from the stated loan terms.
Living in the Philadelphia Suburbs: Bucks County Edition, by Jim Stevenson
Realtor® · Real Broker