Mortgage Applications Increase in the Week Ending January 28, 2022

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending January 28, 2022, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 12.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 15.0% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 18.0% from the previous week but was -50.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 4.0% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 12.0% compared with the previous week but was -7.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

In a statement prepared for the release of this week’s WMAS, Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting said, “Most mortgage rates in MBA’s survey continued to rise, with the 30-year fixed rate reaching its highest level since March 2020 at 3.78 percent. Despite the increase in rates, refinance applications were up 18 percent, driven mainly by a 22 percent jump in conventional applications. There has likely been some recent volatility in application counts due to holiday-impacted weeks, as well as from borrowers trying to secure a refinance before rates go even higher. Purchase applications also increased in the final full week of January but remained 7 percent lower than a year ago. The average purchase loan size hit a new survey high once again at $441,100. Stubbornly low inventory levels and swift home-price growth continue to push average loan sizes higher.”