Mortgage application volume surged 11% during the week ended September 20, driven by a decrease in mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Most of the increase was due to a major jump in refinance activity: Applications for refinances increased 20% compared with the previous week and were up 175% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases increased 1% compared with the previous week and were up 2% compared with the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage applications increased to their highest level since July 2022, boosted by a 20 percent increase in refinance applications after a large increase the prior week,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “The 30-year fixed rate decreased for the eighth straight week to 6.13 percent, while the FHA rate decreased to 5.99 percent, breaking the psychologically important 6 percent level.”
“As a result of lower rates, week-over-week gains for both conventional and government refinance applications increased sharply,” Kan says. “The refinance share of applications is now at 55.7 percent, and while the level of refinance activity is still modest compared to prior refi waves, they now account for the majority of applications, given the seasonal slowdown in purchase activity.”
“Average loan sizes were higher both for purchase and refinance applications, which pushed the overall average loan size to its highest in the survey’s history at $413,100,” Kan adds.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.9% of total applications.
The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balance decreased to 6.13%, down from 6.15%.
Photo: Bruce Mars