Mortgage application volume increased 2.2% during the week ended January 31, with all of the increase coming from an uptick in refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances were up 12% compared with the previous week and were up 17% compared with the same week one year ago, according to the report.
Driving the increase in applications for refis was a slight drop in mortgage rates: The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.97%, down from 7.02% the previous week.
Applications for purchases, meanwhile, dropped 4% compared with the previous week. Still, applications for purchases were up 15% compared with the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates moved lower last week, consistent with lower Treasury yields following the FOMC meeting and a volatile week for stock market,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist, in a statement. “The 30-year fixed rate declined to its lowest level in six weeks at 6.97 percent.”
“Purchase activity had a tougher week,”Kan adds, “with declines across all loan types. The average loan size for a purchase loan has increased since the start of the year and continued that trend last week with weaker government purchase activity, which reached $447,300, the highest level since October 2024.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.0% of total applications, up from 37.1% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.8% of total applications.
Photo: Ben Mullins