MBA Weekly Survey Oct. 4: Mortgage Applications Decrease

Mortgage applications decreased 6.0 percent from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 29, 2023.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 6.0 percent on
a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 6
percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 7 percent from the previous
week and was 11 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase
Index decreased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent
compared with the previous week and was 22 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage rates continued to move higher last week as markets digested the recent upswing in Treasury
yields. Rates for all mortgage products increased, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing for the
fourth consecutive week to 7.53 percent – the highest rate since 2000,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice
President and Deputy Chief Economist. “As a result, mortgage applications ground to a halt, dropping to
the lowest level since 1996. The purchase market slowed to the lowest level of activity since 1995, as the
rapid rise in rates pushed an increasing number of potential homebuyers out of the market. ARM loan
applications picked up over the week and the ARM share increased to 8 percent, as some borrowers
searched for ways to lower their payments.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 31.7 percent of total applications from 31.9 percent
the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.0 percent of total
applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 14.5 percent from 14.1 percent the week prior. The VA
share of total applications decreased to 10.1 percent from 10.9 percent the week prior. The USDA share
of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5 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 7.53 percent from 7.41 percent, with points increasing to 0.80 from 0.71
(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 7.51 percent from 7.34 percent, with points decreasing to 0.74 from 0.78
(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 7.29
percent from 7.16 percent, with points increasing to 1.01 from 0.96 (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 6.86 percent from 6.73
percent, with points decreasing to 1.14 from 1.17 (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 increased to 6.49 percent from 6.47 percent, with points
decreasing to 1.21 from 1.58 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate
decreased from last week.

Click here to purchase a subscription of 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.