Mortgage applications decreased 2.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey and Market Composite Index for the week ending July 19, 2024.
On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 0.3% from the previous week and was 38% higher than the same week one year ago.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 4% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index, on the other hand, decreased 4% compared with the previous week and was 15% lower than the same week one year ago.
“Purchase applications decreased as ongoing affordability challenges persist with rates at their current levels and with home-price appreciation still strong in many markets," commented Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist.
Continued Kan, “Mortgage rates continued to ease, with the 30-year fixed rate dipping to 6.82%, the lowest level since February 2024. Refinance applications were up, driven by conventional and FHA application activity, as some borrowers took the opportunity to act. Furthermore, the conventional refi index was at its highest level since September 2022.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.7% of total applications from 38.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.8% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 13.4% from 13.5% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 14.8% from 15.2% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4% from the week prior.
The MBA's latest data also showed that the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.82% from 6.87%, with points increasing to 0.59 from 0.57 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
