Freddie Mac's weekly survey had the 30-year fixed rate at 7.18% on Nov. 5, 2026, its third straight weekly decline but still close to a point above the 6.22% of a year earlier. Adjustable-rate loans are drawing more interest. If you're comparing an ARM vs fixed mortgage Georgia lenders are quoting this month, the starting rate is the easy part to compare. The caps, the reset math and the way lenders qualify you are where the risk sits.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey for the week ending Oct. 30 put ARMs at 11.4% of applications, according to Mortgage Professional America. MPA's headline called that a 14-month high. Georgia's market isn't pushing anyone to rush, either. Georgia REALTORS reported a statewide year-to-date median sales price of $360,000 for the first half of 2026, up 0.3%. June inventory was 53,118 homes, up 2.1% from a year earlier, and average days on market rose to 60 from 56. "Sales activity has remained consistent with last year," said 2026 president Brianne Drake.
We look most closely at the 7/6 ARM below, because the seven-year fixed period is the one buyers tend to consider when they expect to move.
How much cheaper is an ARM than a fixed-rate mortgage right now?
It depends on whose numbers you read. The gap between ARM and fixed rates ranges from about a quarter point to about a full point, depending on the survey and the loan type. Your own Loan Estimates are the only numbers that count.
In the MBA survey reported by Mortgage Professional America, the 5/1 ARM averaged 6.29% and the 30-year fixed conforming contract rate averaged 7.30%, about a point apart. Zillow's national averages, published by Yahoo Finance on Nov. 10 (data as of Nov. 9), showed a narrower gap: 6.66% on the 7/1 ARM against 6.93% on the 30-year fixed, about 0.27 points. Zillow's 5/1 ARM was 6.83%. These surveys measure different things, so don't mix them. Neither one publishes a national average for the 7/6 ARM specifically.
If a lender's 7-year ARM is only a quarter point under its fixed rate, you're taking on reset risk for very little monthly savings. Get quotes on both loans from at least two lenders before you decide whether the discount is worth it.
What is a 7/6 ARM?
A 7/6 ARM has a fixed rate for 84 months. After that the rate resets every six months, based on an index plus a margin set in your loan note.
For conforming loans, Fannie Mae's Selling Guide requires ARMs to be tied to SOFR, using "a 30-day average of the SOFR index as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York." Each new rate uses the index value available 45 days before the change date. Fannie Mae caps the margin at 3.00 percentage points (300 basis points). Freddie Mac buys 3/6, 5/6, 7/6 and 10/6 SOFR ARMs with margins of at least 1.00 and no more than 3.00 points.
The margin also works as a floor. Fannie Mae's guide says rates "may never decrease to less than the ARM's margin, regardless of any downward interest rate cap." So even if SOFR fell sharply, your rate couldn't drop below your margin.
On Nov. 10, 2026, the 30-day average SOFR was 3.91498%. If the index sat at that level at your reset and your margin was the maximum 3.00, the new rate would be about 6.9%. Your actual margin is whatever your note says, so ask for it.
How do the rate caps on a 7/6 ARM work?
Conforming 7/6 ARMs use 5/1/5 caps. At the first reset the rate can rise as much as 5 points. Each later reset can move it up to 1 point. Over the life of the loan it can never go more than 5 points above the starting rate.
Fannie Mae's guide lists the plan as "7 year SOFR (5/1/5)." The 5-year version is 2/1/5. A Homebuyer.com summary of Freddie Mac's guide describes the same structure for 7/6 loans: "the periodic cap limits each subsequent adjustment to 1 percentage point up or down," and "after your initial period ends, all these loans adjust every 6 months."
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines the initial cap as how much the rate "can increase or decrease the first time it adjusts." The subsequent cap covers "the adjustment periods that follow," and the lifetime cap limits the total change "over the life of the loan."
The detail many buyers miss is that on a 7/6 ARM the first-adjustment cap and the lifetime cap are both 5 points. Your payment won't necessarily climb a step at a time. The very first reset, in month 85, could take the rate straight to the lifetime maximum.
What does an ARM vs a fixed loan look like on a Georgia median home?
We used the Georgia REALTORS first-half median of $360,000 with 20% down, which leaves a $288,000 loan on a 30-year schedule. The fixed rate is Freddie Mac's 7.18% average. The 6.25% ARM rate is an illustrative number we chose, not a quote or a market average. The figures are principal and interest only. Georgia property taxes, homeowners insurance and any HOA dues would come on top.
| Scenario | Rate | Monthly principal and interest |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 7.18% | about $1,951 |
| 7/6 ARM, years 1 to 7 | 6.25% (illustrative) | about $1,773 |
| ARM after first reset, index unchanged at today's level, 3.00 margin | about 6.9% | about $1,877 |
| ARM after first reset, worst case at lifetime cap | 11.25% | about $2,631 |
In this example the ARM saves about $178 a month, roughly $14,900 over the 84-month fixed period. Because the rate is lower, it also pays down principal a bit faster. After seven years you'd owe about $259,300 on the ARM versus about $263,200 on the fixed loan, a difference of roughly $3,900.
The reset payments in the table assume the remaining ARM balance of about $259,300 is spread over the 276 months left on the loan. If the index were still near today's level, the payment after the reset would be about $1,877, still less than the fixed loan's $1,951. Nobody can tell you where SOFR will be in 2033, though, and that scenario is only one possibility.
How fast could the worst case erase the ARM savings?
In about 22 months. At the 11.25% cap, the payment of about $2,631 would be about $858 more than the ARM's starting payment and about $680 more than the fixed loan's. At $680 a month, the roughly $14,900 you saved in the first seven years would be gone in under two years.
Doesn't getting approved mean I can afford the ARM?
No. Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system, Desktop Underwriter, qualifies 7-year and 10-year ARMs at the starting note rate, according to Selling Guide B3-6-04. Your approval reflects the teaser-period payment, not the payment after a reset.
The 5-year ARM is treated differently. It qualifies at the greater of the fully indexed rate or the note rate plus 2 points. With a 7/6 ARM, nobody tests whether your budget could handle month 85. You have to check that yourself.
Who should avoid a 7/6 ARM?
Buyers who expect to stay well beyond seven years should generally avoid one. So should anyone whose budget couldn't absorb a payment roughly $860 higher on a loan this size. If your plan depends on refinancing before the reset, remember that a refinance depends on your income, credit, home value and the rate market at that time, and none of those is guaranteed.
First-time buyers who are stretching to qualify should be especially careful. If the lower starting rate is the only reason the numbers work, the house is probably more than the budget can carry long term.
Who might reasonably consider one?
An ARM can make sense for a buyer with a firm reason to sell within seven years, such as an expected military reassignment or a planned job relocation, who could still afford the capped payment if plans changed. The CFPB advises that even if you plan to move or refinance, you should know how much the rate could change. Plans slip, and the loan terms don't change because yours did.
Checklist before you sign an ARM in Georgia
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Ask for the index, margin and caps in writing. On a conforming 7/6, the margin can't exceed 3.00 points and the caps should read 5/1/5.
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Find the highest possible payment on your Loan Estimate. The CFPB suggests asking the lender to calculate it.
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Compare caps and margins from at least two lenders, not just starting rates.
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Get a fixed-rate quote from the same lenders so you know the real spread you're being offered.
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Add Georgia property tax and homeowners insurance to every payment scenario, including the worst case.
Related reading
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What the September Rate Jump Does to a Georgia Mortgage Payment
