Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

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Mortgage applications decreased 12.7% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 18, 2025. 

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 12.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 11% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 20% from the previous week and was 43% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6% compared with the previous week and was 6% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Overall mortgage application activity declined last week, as rates increased to their highest level in two months. The 30-year fixed rate rose for the second straight week to 6.9%, an almost 30-basis-point increase over two weeks,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “These higher rates drove a 20% drop in refinance applications, especially for higher balance loans, with the average loan size falling substantially. The refinance share of applications at 37.3% was the lowest since January. Similar to the previous week, economic uncertainty and rate volatility impacted prospective homebuyers as we saw a 7% decline in purchase applications. Both conventional and government purchase activity fell relative to the week before, but the overall level of purchase applications was still 6% higher than a year ago.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.3% of total applications from 41.3% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.5% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 16.7% from 15.8% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 13.4% from 13.7% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5% the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) increased to 6.90% from 6.81%, with points increasing to 0.66 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80% 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 $806,500) increased to 6.9% from 6.84%, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80% 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 6.56% from 6.52%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.82 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.20% from 6.11%, with points decreasing to 0.58 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 6.01% from 6.11%, with points decreasing to 0.48 from 0.56 (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.