Mortgage application volume fell 2.0% during the week ended January 24, as the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 7.02%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
The results include an adjustment for the Martin Luther King holiday.
Applications for refinances decreased 7% compared with the previous week but were up 5% compared with the same week one year ago
Applications for purchases decreased 0.4% compared with the previous week and were down 7% compared with the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates were mixed last week, and the 30-year fixed rate remained unchanged at 7.02 percent,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “Application activity was slightly weaker, primarily because of a 7 percent decline in refinancing across both conventional and government loans.”
“Purchase activity decreased slightly, but applications for FHA purchase loans were a bright spot, increasing by 2 percent,” Kan says. “New and existing-home sales ended 2024 on a strong note, and if mortgage rates continue to stabilize and for-sale inventory loosens, we expect a gradual pick up in purchase activity in the coming months.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.1% of total applications, down from 40.4% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.8%.
Photo: Alison Pang
