Mortgage application volume increased 0.6% during the week ended November 7, as rates increased slightly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances decreased 3% from the previous week but were up 147% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases increased 6% compared with the previous week and were 31% higher than the same week one year ago.
“Purchase applications picked up almost 6 percent over the week to the strongest pace since September, despite mortgage rates increasing slightly, with the 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.34 percent,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “Purchase applications for conventional, FHA, and VA loans increased, as potential homebuyers continue to shop around, particularly in markets where inventory has increased and sales price growth has slowed. Based on the unadjusted purchase index for the week, this was the strongest start to November since 2022.”
For the week, the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balance was 6.34%, up from 6.31%.
“Higher mortgage rates did quell some refinance activity, as conventional and VA refinance applications declined over the week, and the average loan size for refinances dropped to its lowest level in over a month,” Kan adds.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 55.6% of total applications, down from 57.0% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.8% of total applications.
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