Mortgage loan application volume fell 6.3% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported.
The Market Composite Index, which measures application volume, fell 6.3% on an adjusted basis. The Refinance Index fell 7% and was 22% lower than a year ago. It’s the Refinance Index’s lowest level since July 2021.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 5%, while the unadjusted Purchase Index dropped 5% compared to the week before, down 12% from the previous year.
“Refinance applications declined for the fourth week as rates increased, bringing the refinance index to its lowest level since July 2021. The 30-year fixed rate has increased 20 basis points over the past month and reached 3.23% last week – the highest since April 2021. The 15-year fixed-rate increased to 2.54%, which is the highest since July,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.
“Purchase activity declined and was 12% lower than a year ago, within the annual comparison range that it has been over the past six weeks. Insufficient housing supply and elevated home-price growth continue to limit options for would-be buyers.”
Though conventional purchase loan activity ticked up last week, refinancing has been trending down consistently. Kan noted that refinance activity is likely to weaken further.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances rose to 3.23%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances increased to 3.26% from 3.22%
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA fell from 3.20% to 3.17%.