Following the previous week’s surge in applications for refinances, total mortgage application volume fell 1.3% during the week ended September 27, as mortgage rates rose slightly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Overall, mortgage application volume remains historically low, so decreases and increases in volume should be viewed in that context.
Applications for refinances decreased 3% from the previous week but were up 186% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases increased 1% compared with the previous week and were up 9% compared with the same week one year ago.
“Last week’s incoming data showed an economy that is still growing at a solid pace, even as inflation continues to decline. As a result, mortgage rates were up modestly, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing slightly to 6.14 percent,” says Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “With this move, refinance application volume declined on the week but remains almost three-times as high as last year’s pace.
“The news for the week was that more homebuyers appear to be entering the market,” Fratantoni adds. “Purchase application activity was up for the week and increased more than 9 percent compared to last year at this time. Inventories of both new and existing homes have been increasing over the course of 2024, meaning that potential buyers have properties to look at and now have somewhat lower mortgage rates leading to better affordability.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 54.9% of total applications, down from 55.7% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.8% of total applications.
The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances was 6.14%, as of the end of last week percent, up slightly from 6.13% the previous week.
Photo: Scott Graham