Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

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Mortgage applications decreased 0.1% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending October 25, 2024. 

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1% compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index decreased 6% from the previous week and was 84% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 4% compared with the previous week and was 10% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage applications were essentially flat last week as rates increased for the fourth time in five weeks, driven by bond market volatility in advance of the presidential election and the next FOMC meeting. The 30-year fixed rate, at 6.73%, was at its highest level since July 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “After a brief burst of activity in September when rates were almost 60 basis points lower, overall applications have declined 27%, driven by a pullback in refinances. Government refinances accounted for a large part of the decrease, dropping 12% over last week.”

Added Kan, “Purchase applications increased compared to a holiday-shortened week and were 10% higher than a year ago. While near-term purchase application activity has weakened, we continue to expect housing demand from younger homebuyers to support purchase growth over the next few years as for-sale inventory loosens gradually.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 43.1% of total applications from 45.7% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.4% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 16.4% from 16.9% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 14.6% from 15.8% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4% from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) increased to 6.73% from 6.52%, with points increasing to 0.69 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 $766,550) increased to 6.77% from 6.73%, with points decreasing to 0.49 from 0.57 (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 6.55% from 6.29%, with points increasing to 0.94 from 0.86 (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 6.27% from 5.98%, with points increasing to 0.77 from 0.66 (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 6.20% from 6.12%, with points increasing to 0.59 from 0.56 (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 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.