Mortgage Applications Up 3.9% From Last Week

Mortgage applications increased 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 12, 2024. 

On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 30% compared to last week. The Refinance Index increased 15% from the previous week but was 37% higher than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 22% compared with the previous week and was 14% lower than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage rates declined last week, as recent signs of cooling inflation and the increased likelihood of Fed rate cuts later this year pulled them lower. The 30-year fixed rate declined to 6.87%, the lowest rate since March 2024,” said MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, Joel Kan. “Application activity was up 4%, driven by a 15% jump in refinances to the highest level since August 2022. While FHA and VA refinance applications accounted for a significant share of the increase, these are likely recently originated loans with even higher than current offered rates. Even with last week’s rate decline, purchase applications continue to lag, down 14% compared to last year’s pace.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38.8% of total applications from 34.9% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.8% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.5% from 12.5% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 15.2% from 13.7% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4% from the week prior.

More details from the MBA's latest data can be found here.