Mortgage application volume increased 6.3% during the week ended November 22, driven mainly by a surge in purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances decreased 3% compared with the previous week but were up 119% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases jumped 12% compared with the previous week and were up 52% compared with a year ago.
“Purchase activity drove overall applications higher last week, as conventional purchase applications picked up pace and mortgage rates declined for the first time in over two months, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping slightly to 6.86 percent,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “With the growth in for-sale inventory and signs that the economy remains strong, buyers have remained in the market even though rates have increased recently.”
“The increase in conventional purchase applications helped push the average purchase loan size to $439,200, its highest level in almost a month,” Kan adds. “The decline in refinance activity was driven by pullbacks in FHA and VA refinances. Applications were significantly higher than a year ago by most measures, but this was compared to the week of Thanksgiving 2023, which was a week earlier than this year’s holiday.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 38.8% of total applications, down from 41.0% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.6% of total applications.
Photo: Annika Wischnewsky