Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 15, 2025) — Mortgage applications increased 33.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 10, 2025.  Last week’s results included an adjustment for the New Year’s holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 33.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 52 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index increased 44 percent from the previous week and was 22 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 27 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 48 percent compared with the previous week and was 2 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

“Bond yields in the U.S. and abroad continued to move higher in response to concerns over a sticky inflation outlook and still too-high budget deficits, which pushed mortgage rates higher for the fifth consecutive week. The 30-year fixed rate is now at 7.09 percent – its highest level since May 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “This time of the year is a particularly volatile time for application volumes, so it can be more helpful to focus on the level rather than the percent change.  Purchase applications were 2 percent lower, and refinances were 22 percent higher compared to a year ago.  Total applications were up by 33.3 percent, the highest level in a month, as both purchase and refinance applications saw large percentage increases over the week.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 42.7 percent of total applications from 40.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.0 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications remained unchanged at 16.9 percent from the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 15.7 percent from 16.2 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) increased to 7.09 percent from 6.99 percent, with points decreasing to 0.65 from 0.68 (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 $766,550) increased to 7.05 percent from 6.99 percent, with points decreasing to 0.59 from 0.74 (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 6.76 percent from 6.65 percent, with points decreasing to 0.90 from 0.91 (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 decreased to 6.43 percent from 6.46 percent, with points increasing to 0.71 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 6.18 percent from 5.98 percent, with points increasing to 0.54 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week. 

If you would like to purchase a subscription of MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey, please visit www.mba.org/WeeklyApps, contact [email protected] or click here.

The survey covers U.S. closed-end residential mortgage applications originated through retail and consumer direct channels. The survey has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.