SAN ANTONIO, TX — Higher mortgage rates are getting attention again after Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed loan has reached 7%, but San Antonio housing professionals say that level is unlikely to shake the market in a major way.
At Frost Bank, vice president Beverly Hankinson said some prospective buyers may pause when they see the number, yet the bigger issue remains whether a monthly payment fits a household budget. She said people she meets are focused on the full cost of ownership, not just the interest rate attached to the loan.
That view is shared by local real estate leaders who say rates matter, but they do not tell the whole story for buyers trying to decide when and where to purchase.
Buyers are still weighing monthly payments, not just the headline rate
Hankinson said many buyers are approaching the market with a practical question: what will the payment actually be, and can the family afford it comfortably?
She said that is why the current environment is less about a single rate figure and more about the intersection of price, income, taxes and insurance. Even when interest rates rise, a buyer who has found the right home and a manageable payment may still decide to move ahead.
Her advice to borrowers is to get a firm mortgage offer and then shop it against other lenders. She said competition still matters, and a higher average rate does not mean every lender will match it. Borrowers who compare offers carefully may still find better terms if they ask for a true apples-to-apples review.
Texas still has advantages that can support demand
Hankinson said Texas remains relatively affordable compared with much of the country, which gives the state a cushion even when borrowing costs climb. She also pointed to the number of homes available for sale as another stabilizing factor.
On top of that, she said Texas continues to gain residents at a steady pace, with about 1,000 people moving into the state every day. That inflow, combined with a broad housing inventory, helps support demand even when some shoppers take extra time before committing to a purchase.
Those trends, she said, suggest the market can absorb rate increases better than places with tighter inventory or higher home prices. The result is not a hot market without friction, but one that still has enough underlying demand to remain steady.
Realtors say affordability is the real pressure point
The San Antonio Board of Realtors echoed that assessment. Chair Ed Zapata said mortgage rates near 7% do reduce buying power, but the larger challenge for local buyers is the full affordability picture.
He said home prices, property taxes and insurance all affect whether a household can make a purchase work. In his view, buyers need to look beyond the rate itself and consider the total monthly obligation before making a decision.
Zapata also said working with a realtor who knows the local market can help buyers sort through those tradeoffs. In a market where costs outside the loan can shift the math, he said informed guidance can make a real difference in choosing the right home and timing the purchase.
San Antonio sales outpaced statewide and national trends in August
Even with higher rates in the background, San Antonio’s housing market showed more strength than the state and country in August. Local home sales rose 4% compared with the same month in 2025, according to the market figures cited by local housing leaders.
That was better than the statewide result, where home sales fell by more than 4% in August. Nationally, existing-home sales dropped 2% from July to August and were down 1.2% from the same month a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Those comparisons suggest that San Antonio has been holding up better than broader market conditions, at least for now. Buyers remain active enough to keep sales moving, even as borrowing costs make the math more difficult.
What the 7 percent benchmark could mean next
Freddie Mac’s 7% average is a meaningful marker because it can change how much house a buyer can afford, but local experts say the number alone does not determine how the market behaves.
For some shoppers, the increase may simply slow down a decision. For others, especially those focused on long-term stability or seeking homes in a more affordable market, it may not be enough to stop a purchase altogether.
That is why Hankinson and Zapata both emphasized the same basic theme: buyers need to look at the full picture. Rates matter, but so do inventory, household budgets, local taxes and insurance costs. In San Antonio, those factors appear to be keeping the market from losing momentum even as borrowing costs rise.
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