Mortgage application volume fell 2.1% during the week ended October 27 as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 7.86%, down from 7.90% the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances decreased 4% from the previous week and were down 12% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases decreased 1% compared with the previous week and were down 22% compared with a year ago.
“Mortgage applications declined for the third straight week as mortgage rates remained elevated, with all rates around 30 basis points higher than they were a month ago,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “The 30-year fixed rate dipped slightly to 7.86 percent but remained close to 23-year highs and has been above the 7-percent level since early August 2023.
“The impact of higher rates continued to be felt across both purchase and refinance markets,” Kan says. “Purchase applications decreased to their lowest level since 1995 and refinance applications to the lowest level since January 2023. Applications for government loans saw much larger weekly declines than conventional, with government purchase applications down 3 percent and refinances down 9 percent.
“As higher rates continue to impact affordability and purchasing power, ARM loans increased almost 10 percent last week and continued to gain share, growing to 10.7 percent of all applications,” he adds.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 31.2% of total applications, down from 31.4% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 10.7% of total applications.
Photo: Wolfgang Hasselmann