If you are under contract in Honeoye Falls right now, or you are about to write an offer, your lender has probably asked you a question you were not ready for: do you want to lock or float?

This post explains what that question actually means, what happens mechanically when you lock, what the current rate data does and does not tell you, and how I would think about the decision if I were sitting at your kitchen table. No predictions. I do not know where rates go next, and neither does anyone selling you a forecast.

What the rate numbers actually say this week

Here is the only rate data I will cite, and it comes straight from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the weekly national average most lenders and news outlets reference.

For the week ending August 13, 2026:

• 30-year fixed: 6.67%, down from 6.69% the prior week
• 30-year fixed one year earlier: 6.58%
• 15-year fixed: 5.96%, down from 6.01% the prior week
• 15-year fixed one year earlier: 5.71%

Two things stand out. First, per Trading Economics, that 6.67% reading ended a streak of five consecutive weekly increases. Five weeks up, then one week down by two hundredths of a point. Second, and this is the part buyers keep missing: the 30-year is at 6.67% today versus 6.58% a year ago. That is a nine basis point difference over twelve months. Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater described rates as having "remained relatively stable," noted affordability has improved versus a year ago, and said purchase and refinance applications have increased.

So the honest summary of the mortgage rate trend August 2026 gives us: rates have gone essentially nowhere in a year, they climbed for five weeks, and last week they ticked down. Anyone telling you that pattern proves what happens next is guessing.

Why the Freddie Mac weekly survey Rochester buyers read is not your rate

This trips up almost every first-time buyer. The Freddie Mac number is a national weekly average of what lenders are quoting on a specific loan profile. It is a thermometer, not your quote.

Your actual rate on a Honeoye Falls purchase depends on your credit score, your down payment percentage, your loan type and amount, whether the property is single family or a condo, your lock length, and how much you are paying in points. Two buyers writing offers on the same street the same week can be 0.5% apart on rate for reasons that have nothing to do with the market.

What the survey is genuinely useful for: telling you whether the general direction has been up or down, so you know whether waiting has recently cost people money or saved them money. That is it. Do not walk into your lender's office quoting 6.67% and expect it.

The rate lock walkthrough, step by step

Here is what actually happens, in order, with nothing left out.

1. You need an accepted offer and a property address. You generally cannot lock a rate without a specific property under contract. Pre-approval is not a lock. This is the single most common misunderstanding I hear.
2. You tell your loan officer to lock, in writing. Email it. A phone call is fine to start the conversation, but you want a written record of the day and time you gave the instruction.
3. You choose a lock period. Typically 30, 45, or 60 days. Longer locks cost more, either in rate or in points. Your lock has to cover your closing date with room to spare.
4. You get a lock confirmation. Read it. It states the rate, the points, the expiration date, and the loan program. If any of those differ from what you agreed to verbally, say so that day.
5. You keep your file clean. A lock protects the rate, not the loan. If your income, employment, credit or down payment source changes during the lock, the pricing can change. Do not open new credit. Do not move large sums between accounts without telling your lender.
6. You watch the expiration date. If closing slips past the lock expiration, you pay for an extension or you take whatever the market is offering that day. Extensions are usually priced per day or in short blocks.

One more thing worth asking about before you commit: a float down option. Some lenders will let you capture a lower rate once during the lock period if the market improves by more than a set amount. It usually costs something, either upfront or in slightly worse pricing at the start. Ask what the threshold is and what it costs. If a lender says they offer it, get the terms in writing rather than a verbal reassurance.

So should I lock my mortgage rate, or float?

Strip out the noise and it comes down to your tolerance for one specific outcome: rates go up 0.25% before closing and your monthly payment changes.

Lock if any of these describe you:

• Your approval is tight. If a quarter point higher pushes your debt-to-income ratio out of range, you do not have room to gamble.
• You are closing inside 30 to 45 days. A short window means there is little upside in waiting and real risk in a bad week.
• You will lose sleep over it. That sounds soft. It is not. A locked rate lets you focus on inspection items and moving logistics instead of refreshing rate pages.
• You have already budgeted around a specific payment and told your household that number.

Floating can make sense if:

• You have a longer closing timeline and genuine cushion in your budget.
• Your lender has a clear, written float down structure and you have compared its cost to a plain lock.
• You are comfortable with the fact that five weeks of increases happened this summer, and could happen again.

My blunt take: for a first-time buyer, the value of a lock is certainty, and certainty is worth paying a small amount for. The people who get hurt are not the ones who locked at 6.67% when 6.40% was theoretically available. They are the ones who floated, watched a five week climb, and had to redo their whole budget two weeks before closing.

Rates are flat. Local prices are not.

Here is the context that matters more than the weekly rate move. The most recent primary-source county figure I have is from the New York State Association of Realtors, reported by the Rochester Business Journal on June 26, 2026: the Monroe County median home price was $308,500 in May 2026, described as another new high. Zillow's county-level home value index showed $285,439, up 4.1% year over year, as of an April 30, 2026 update.

Set that against rates that moved nine basis points in a year. Prices moved. Rates did not. That changes the shape of the decision: waiting for a better rate on a rising price is a trade, not a free option.

I want to be straight about a limit here. I do not have verified town-level sale price, days-on-market or inventory data for Honeoye Falls, Mendon, Pittsford, Brighton, Henrietta or Rush for this period. A lot of what shows up when you search Rochester market stats describes the city of Rochester, which is a different market from these towns. Some of those aggregator pages contradict each other outright for the same month, including one that published 51 median days on market while another showed 13 for July 2026. If you see a headline number for Honeoye Falls homes for sale, ask where it came from and what geography it covers.

What I do with buyers instead of quoting aggregators

When you are deciding what to offer on a specific house in Honeoye Falls, the only numbers that hold up are actual comparable closed sales: similar square footage, similar lot, similar condition, similar age, within a defensible radius, and recent. I pull those for every offer I write and I show you the ones that do not support my recommendation too.

That comp work also feeds the rate conversation. If the appraisal comes in light, your loan-to-value changes and pricing can change with it. Getting the offer price right is part of protecting the rate you locked.

Practical sequence I recommend once you are under contract:

• Confirm your realistic closing date with your attorney and lender before choosing a lock length.
• Ask your lender for pricing on two lock periods side by side, and for the float down terms if offered.
• Get the lock confirmation in writing and calendar the expiration date.
• Freeze your financial picture until closing. No new credit, no job changes you can control, no unexplained deposits.

I came into this business from the investor side, buying and rehabbing houses before I was licensed, which means I have spent a lot of time in basements and attics in this part of Monroe County. I would rather tell you a house has a problem or that your lock math does not work than close a deal that leaves you stretched.

If you are writing offers or already under contract and want a second read on the rate decision, the comps, or both, book a time with me here. Bring your lender's quote. We will go through it line by line.

Khem Kadariya

About this data

The figures in this post were compiled from publicly available sources including Houzeo, Movoto, Redfin, RochesterFirst and Zillow, along with other public market data. Real estate numbers change quickly, and these were accurate as of August 2026. For current figures on a specific home, street, or town, ask me directly rather than relying on a published average.