Mortgage Applications Decline as Mortgage Rates Rise in the Week Ending March 15th

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, March 15th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—declined 1.6% 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 declined 3.0% from one week ago and was 3.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1.0% compared with one week ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index declined 1.0% compared with the previous week and was 14.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

Commenting on the results of this week’s survey, MBA Vice President and Deputy Economist Joel Kan said:

“Mortgage rates increased last week as incoming data showed inflation was still hotter than expected, which stoked concerns about the timing and extent to which the Fed might be able to reduce the fed funds rates this year. After three weeks of declines, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.97%. Mortgage applications continued to show sensitivity to rate movements, and both purchase and refinance activity decreased over the week. With housing supply low and prices high, the average loan size for purchase applications increased to the highest level since May 2022.”