Mortgage Applications Continued to Decline in the Week Ending February 25, 2022

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending February 25, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased -0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1.0% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 1.0% from the previous week, but it was -56.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index declined -2.0% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1.0% compared with the previous week, but it was -9.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

In remarks prepared for the release of this week’s WMAS, Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting said, “Mortgage rates last week reached multi-year highs, putting a damper on applications activity. The 30-year fixed rate reached its highest level since 2019 at 4.15 percent, and the refinance share of applications dipped below 50 percent. Although there was an increase in government refinance applications, higher rates continue to push potential refinance borrowers out of the market. Purchase activity remained weak, but the average loan size increased again, which indicates that home-price growth remains strong, and a greater share of the activity is occurring at the higher end of the market.”

“We will continue to assess the potential impact on mortgage demand from the sharp drop-in interest rates this week due to the invasion of Ukraine,” Kan added.