The Fed holds at 3.75% to 4%, but two officials wanted a hike. What rates above 7% mean for extra payments and a rental's cover

The US Federal Reserve held its policy rate at 3.75% to 4% on 28 October 2026, but two of its twelve voters, Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, wanted to raise it by a quarter point.

A hold with a split vote

The vote was 10 to 2, after a quarter-point rise in September. The statement said growth was strong and inflation remained high (Federal Reserve, 28 October 2026).

At his press conference, Chair Kevin Warsh said the committee had "just come out of a family fight, a serious, sober discussion", and added: "It's our responsibility to get inflation down" (Admirals, 28 October 2026).

After the press conference, futures put the chance of a quarter-point rise at the 8 to 9 December meeting at about 85%, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose about 5 basis points to 5.04% (Bloomberg data via Admirals, 28 October 2026).

Where mortgage rates stand

The Fed doesn't set fixed mortgage rates, but they track the 10-year yield closely. Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 7.32% in the week to 22 October 2026, down from 7.40% a week earlier and up from 6.19% a year ago. Its next weekly figure is due on 29 October.

With the Fed leaning towards a rise, that raises two practical questions.

What USD 200 a month extra does to a 7.32% loan

The Overpayment calculator, free in the Stresst app, takes the loan, rate, term and a monthly extra payment, and shows the projected interest difference and how much sooner the loan ends.

Take an illustrative USD 400,000 loan over 30 years at 7.32%. The regular payment is USD 2,748 a month, with USD 589,180 of interest over the term. Add USD 200 a month and the calculator shows:

• New term: 24 years 2 months, so 5 years 10 months sooner
• Total interest: USD 452,527
• Projected interest difference: USD 136,653

At USD 500 a month the term falls to 19 years 1 month and the interest difference rises to USD 246,073.

The same USD 200 a month on the same loan at last year's 6.19% gives an interest difference of USD 103,324. At 7.82%, half a point above today, it's USD 153,328.

What half a point does to a rental's DSCR

A DSCR loan is sized on the rental's net operating income rather than the borrower's own. The DSCR Calculator in Stresst takes rent, a vacancy allowance, annual running costs and the loan, rate and term, and shows the ratio and the largest loan the rent would cover at 1.25 and 1.00.

Take an illustrative rental at USD 3,000 a month, 5% vacancy, and USD 4,000 property taxes, USD 1,800 insurance and USD 1,800 maintenance a year, self-managed with no HOA. Net operating income is USD 26,600 a year. On a USD 300,000 loan over 30 years:

• At an illustrative 7.75%: payments of USD 25,791 a year and a DSCR of 1.03, in the range the calculator marks as one many DSCR lenders consider. Largest loan at 1.25: USD 247,530.
• At 8.25%: payments of USD 27,046 and a DSCR of 0.98. The calculator flags that the rent may not cover the loan payments. Largest loan at 1.25: USD 236,046.

Half a point takes about USD 11,500 off the loan the same rent supports at 1.25, and USD 14,355 at 1.00.

Run your own numbers in Stresst

Every worked figure above came out of the Stresst app. Put in your own balance and extra payment, or your own rent and costs, and you'll have your answer in a couple of minutes.

The Overpayment calculator is free, along with Mortgage Payment, Total Purchase Costs, Investment Property Yield and the Refinance Calculator. The DSCR Calculator is part of Premium, which also covers the Debt-to-Income Ratio, PMI Estimator and ARM Stress Test, plus PDF export on every calculator, and starts with a 7-day free trial.

Freddie Mac publishes its next rate reading on 29 October, and the Fed decides again on 9 December. On iPhone, Stresst is in beta through Apple's TestFlight app.

Download Stresst free on Google Play

Join the Stresst iPhone beta on TestFlight

Know your numbers before you commit.

Sources

• Federal Reserve, FOMC statement, 28 October 2026. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/monetary20261028a1.pdf
• Federal Reserve, "Meeting calendars and information", accessed 29 October 2026. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm
• Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 22 October 2026. https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
• Admirals, "Warsh press conference: Fed holds rates in a 10-2 vote", 28 October 2026. https://admiralmarkets.com/analytics/traders-blog/warsh-press-conference-october-2026
• Yahoo Finance, "Rate decision live: Interest rates held steady in split vote", 28 October 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/live/fed-meeting-live-updates-federal-reserve-october-meeting-kevin-warsh-161129201.html