Mortgage Applications Drop in the Week Ending October 25th, Marking Fifth Consecutive Drop

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, October 25th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index declined 1.0% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 6.0% from the previous week but was 84.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5.0% compared to one week ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 4.0% compared with the previous week and was 3.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

Commenting on the survey results, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan said:

“Mortgage applications were essentially flat last week as rates increased for the fourth time in five weeks, driven by bond market volatility in advance of the presidential election and the next FOMC meeting. The 30-year fixed rate, at 6.73%, was at its highest level since July 2024. After a brief burst of activity in September when rates were almost 60 basis points lower, overall applications have declined 27%, driven by a pullback in refinances. Government refinances accounted for a large part of the decrease, dropping 12% over last week.

Purchase applications increased compared to a holiday-shortened week and were 10 percent higher than a year ago. While near-term purchase application activity has weakened, we continue to expect housing demand from younger homebuyers to support purchase growth over the next few years as for-sale inventory loosens gradually.”