US Mortgage Applications Decline in the Week Ending January 30

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, January 30, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 8.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.0%. MBA noted that the prior week’s results included an adjustment for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The Refinance Index declined 5.0% from the previous week but was 117.0% higher than the same week one year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 14.0% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index rose 2.0% compared with the prior week and was 4.0% higher than the same week one year earlier.

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

“Application volume was down last week, led by a 14% drop in purchase applications. Winter Storm Fern likely had an impact as much of the country was snowed in, hampering homebuying activity. The annual increase in purchase applications was the weakest since April 2025. Refinance activity also decreased over the week, despite mortgage rates moving lower. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.21% last week, a slight decline, but not significant enough to incentivize more borrowers to refinance. Additionally, this week’s results are being compared to the week that included the MLK Jr. holiday.”