Mortgage application volume fell 0.5% during the week ended Sept. 22, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, but the decrease was primarily due to a drop in applications for refinances corresponding with higher rates.
Applications for refinances decreased 4% compared with the previous week while applications for purchases increased 3%.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume fell 1% compared with the previous week.
Applications for purchases increased 2% on an unadjusted basis and were 4% higher compared with the same week one year earlier. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 50.8% of total applications.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.5% of total applications. Applications for mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration represented about 9.6% of all applications, down from 9.9 percent the week prior. Applications for loans backed by the Veterans Affairs represented about 10.0% of all applications, down from 10.1% the week prior. Applications for loans backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture represented about 0.7%, unchanged from the previous week. Mortgage rates increased, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at about 4.11%, up sharply from 4.04% the previous week.