Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 30 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 22 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage applications fell to their lowest level in a month last week as rates for most loan types increased. As mortgage-Treasury spreads remained wide, the 30-year fixed rate increased to 6.85 percent, the highest rate since the end of May,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Purchase applications decreased for the first time in a month, as homebuyers remained sensitive to rate changes. Rates are still over a percentage point higher than a year ago, and housing affordability is still a challenge in many parts of the country. However, the average loan size for a purchase application declined to $423,500 – its lowest level since January 2023. This was likely driven by reduced purchase activity in some high-price markets and more activity in some of the lower price tiers as buyers searched for more affordable options.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 27.4 percent of total applications from 27.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.2 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.0 percent from 12.9 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.7 percent from 12.2 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4 percent from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) increased to 6.85 percent from 6.75 percent, with points increasing to 0.65 from 0.64 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $726,200) increased to 6.95 percent from 6.91 percent, with points decreasing to 0.64 from 0.69 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.68 percent from 6.63 percent, with points decreasing to 0.98 from 1.08 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.30 percent from 6.23 percent, with points increasing to 0.91 from 0.69 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 6.00 percent from 6.28 percent, with points increasing to 1.23 from 1.02 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week. 

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The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.