Mortgage Applications Decline in the Week Ending January 26th

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week ending Friday, January 26th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 7.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8.0% compared with the previous week. The comparison includes the adjustment that was made for last week’s MLK holiday.

The Refinance Index increased 2.0% from one week ago and was 3.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 11.0% compared with one week ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 6.0% compared with the previous week but was 20.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

In remarks accompanying the results of the survey, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan said:

“Mortgage rates changed little last week, with the 30-year fixed rate at 6.78%, which is close to where it has been for the past month but lower than the recent peak of 7.9% in October 2023. Applications decreased compared to a holiday-adjusted week, driven by a decline in purchase applications that offset a slight increase in refinance activity. Low existing housing supply is limiting options for prospective buyers and is keeping home-price growth elevated, resulting in a one-two punch that continues to constrain home purchase activity. The average loan size for purchase applications has picked up in recent weeks to $444,100, the largest average loan size since May 2022.”