Mortgage Applications Increase 1.6%

Mortgage applications increased 1.6% the final week of August, bolstered by an uptick in both purchase and refinance transactions. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Applications Survey, indicating loan application volume increased 1.6% on a seasonally-adjusted basis the week ending Aug. 30, and 0.2% on an unadjusted basis. 

The Refinance Index decreased 0.3% from the previous week and was 94% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3% from one week earlier. On an adjusted basis, the purchase index was 4% lower year-over-year.

“Purchase applications increased more than three percent over the week and are inching closer to last year’s levels, with government purchase applications leading the increase,” MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Khan commented. “The refinance share of applications averaged almost 46 percent in August, the highest monthly average since March 2022.” 

The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.5% of total applications. The FHA share fell to 14.6% from 15.3% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 16.7% from 15.9% the week prior. The USDA share remained unchanged at 0.4% from the week prior. 

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.43% from 6.44%, with points increasing to 0.56 from 0.54 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. 

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) decreased to 6.73% from 6.75%, with points decreasing to 0.35 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.