US Mortgage Applications Drop in the Week Ending March 20

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, March 20, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 10.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10.0%.

The Refinance Index decreased 15.0% from the previous week but was 52.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5.0% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased 5.0% compared with the prior week but was 5.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

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

“The threat of higher-for-longer oil prices continued to keep Treasury yields elevated, and mortgage rates finished last week higher. The 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.43 %, more than 30 basis points higher than at the end of February and at its highest level since October 2025. Given this period of increasing mortgage rates and diminishing refinance incentives, refinance applications decreased 15 % as applications across all loan types declined. Purchase applications were also down last week, as higher mortgage rates, coupled with affordability constraints and economic uncertainty, pushed some potential homebuyers to the sidelines.”