Mortgage rates eased downward a little this week, but they're still firmly north of 7%.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slid eight basis points to 7.26% APR in the week ending Oct. 22, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. (A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.) We calculate our weekly average using daily APRs recorded over the past five business days.

Mortgage rates have been above 7% for roughly a month, which is about how long they spent at that level in spring 2024, the last time we saw rates this high. Rates spent significantly longer in 7% territory in fall 2023, and it's starting to look like that's what we may be in for. Major forecasters are uniformly predicting the 30-year will stay at this level into next year.

I could try to give you some kind of but-hey-look-on-the-bright-side cheer. Honestly, though? If there ever was a week to wallow in the state of the U.S. housing market, it might be this one.…