Mortgage application volume fell 7.2% on an adjusted basis during the week ended January 26, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 6.78%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances increased 2% compared with the previous week and were up 3% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases decreased 11% compared with the previous week and were down 20% compared with the same week one year earlier.
“Mortgage rates changed little last week, with the 30-year fixed rate at 6.78 percent, which is close to where it has been for the past month but lower than the recent peak of 7.9 percent in October 2023,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “Applications decreased compared to a holiday-adjusted week, driven by a decline in purchase applications that offset a slight increase in refinance activity.
“Low existing housing supply is limiting options for prospective buyers and is keeping home-price growth elevated, resulting in a one-two punch that continues to constrain home purchase activity,” Kan adds. “The average loan size for purchase applications has picked up in recent weeks to $444,100, the largest average loan size since May 2022.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 34.2% of total applications, up from 32.7% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.6% of total applications.
Photo: Scott Graham