Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
(Image courtesy of Cytonn Photography/Pexels.com)
Mortgage applications increased 20.0% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2025.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 20.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 20% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 35% from the previous week and was 93% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 9% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 10% compared with the previous week and was 24 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage applications increased by 20% to its highest level since September 2024, driven by purchase and refinance applications picking up in a volatile week where economic uncertainty caused rates to drop across the board. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.61%, the lowest rate since October 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Both homebuyers and refinance borrowers were quick to take advantage of this dip in rates, driving the purchase index 24% higher than a year ago to the strongest pace since January 2024.”
Kan noted refinance applications rose by 35% to the highest level in six months, as borrowers with larger loan sizes tend to be more sensitive to rate changes. The average refinance loan size jumped to its second highest in the survey at $399,600.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.6% of total applications from 38.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.6% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 16.3 percent from 15.8% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 15.7% from 14.4% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5% from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.61% from 6.70%, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $806,500) decreased to 6.65% from 6.76%, with points decreasing to 0.42 from 0.49 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 6.33% from 6.37%, with points decreasing to 0.75 from 0.81 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.93% from 6.04%, with points increasing to 0.64 from 0.61 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 5.93% from 6.04%, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.57 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
If you would like to purchase a subscription of MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey, please visit www.mba.org/WeeklyApps, contact mbaresearch@mba.org 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.
