Mortgage Applications Trend Higher in the Week Ending August 30th

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, August 30th, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—increased 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 0.2% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index declined 0.3% from the previous week but was 94.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3.0% compared to one week ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1.0% compared with the previous week but was 4.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

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

“Most mortgage rates moved lower last week, with the 30-year fixed rate edging down slightly to 6.43%. Purchase applications increased more than 3% over the week and are inching closer to last year’s levels, with government purchase applications leading the increase. Refinance applications were slightly down but continued to show strong annual gains as borrowers with higher rates have been refinancing to lower their monthly payments. Similar to purchase activity, refinance activity has picked up across the various loan types. The refinance share of applications averaged almost 46% in August, the highest monthly average since March 2022.”