Mortgage applications fell for a third straight week, decreasing 3.2% as rates continued to rise, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
For the week ended Nov. 9, applications for refinances fell 4.3%, compared with the previous week, while applications for purchases dropped 2.3%.
Total volume has now fallen for five of the past six weeks. Rising interest rates, market volatility and lack of affordability continue to hold home sales back. However, the decrease in applications is also in keeping with seasonal cycles.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume decreased 5% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases decreased 5% and were down 3% compared with the same week one year earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.4% of total applications, up from 39.1% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.7% of total applications.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.17%, up from 5.15%.
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.57%, up from 4.55%.
The average rate for a 5/1 ARM was 4.45%, up from 4.36%.
“Recent volatility in the financial markets and increasing rates continue to adversely impact mortgage application activity, even as the general economic outlook remains positive,” says Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting for the MBA, in a statement. “Both home purchase and mortgage refinance applications decreased over the week, driven largely by declines in conventional applications. Mortgage rates increased over the week for most loan types, with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage increasing to 5.17 percent – the highest level since 2010.”