Mortgage application volume dipped 1.0% during the week ended October 20, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 7.90%, up from 7.70% the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances increased 2% compared with the previous week but were down 8% compared with the same week one year earlier.
Applications for purchases decreased 2% compared with the previous week and were down 22% compared with a year ago.
“Ten-year Treasury yields climbed higher last week, as global investors remained concerned about the prospect for higher-for-longer rates and burgeoning fiscal deficits,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “Mortgage rates followed Treasuries higher, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumping 20 basis points to 7.9 percent – the highest since 2000. Rates have now risen seven consecutive weeks at a cumulative amount of 69 basis points.
“Mortgage activity continued to stall, with applications dipping to the slowest weekly pace since 1995,” Kan says. “These higher mortgage rates are keeping prospective homebuyers out of the market and continue to suppress refinance activity. The ARM share of applications inched up to 9.5 percent, its highest since November 2022.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 31.4% of total applications, up from 30.5% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 9.5% of total applications.
Photo: Walter Randlehoff