MBA Weekly Survey July 6, 2023: Mortgage Applications Decrease
Mortgage applications decreased 4.4 percent from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 30, 2023.
Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Juneteenth holiday.
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,” said Joel Kan, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. He noted mortgage-Treasury spreads remained wide; the 30-year fixed rate increased to 6.85 percent, the highest rate since the end of May.
“Purchase applications decreased for the first time in a month, as homebuyers remained sensitive to rate changes,” Kan said. “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.
Visit www.mba.org/WeeklyApps or contact mbaresearch@mba.org to purchase a subscription to MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey.
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.
