Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

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 Mortgage applications decreased 8.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 22, 2026. 

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 8.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 18% from the previous week and was 19% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.4% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2% compared with the previous week and was 5% higher than the same week one year ago.

The 30-year fixed rate has increased 30 basis points over the past five weeks to its highest level since August 2025. With the rate now at 6.65%, many borrowers understandably backed away from refinancing last week,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “There were large declines in applications across loan types – conventional refinances were down 14%, along with an 18% decrease for FHA applications and a 34% decrease for VA applications. Overall, refinance applications accounted for 38% of applications, the lowest share since June 2025.”

Added Kan, “Purchase applications were slightly lower across all loan types but still ran at a stronger pace than last year’s pace. The average loan size for a purchase application reached another survey high at $473,600, as borrowers with smaller loan sizes were less active given the higher rate environment and its negative impact on their purchasing power.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.5% of total applications from 41.9% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 9.4% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 17.2% from 17.9% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 13.2% from 14.4% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.5% from 0.4% the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.65% from 6.56%, with points increasing to 0.65 from 0.60 (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 $832,750) increased to 6.68% from 6.58%, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.38 (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 6.31% from 6.24%, with points increasing to 0.79 from 0.67 (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 5.97% from 5.93%, with points increasing to 0.84 from 0.73 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.81% from 5.76%, with points decreasing to 0.82 from 0.85 (including the origination fee) for 80% 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 or contact mbaresearch@mba.org.

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.