US Mortgage Applications Fall in the Week Ending October 10

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, October 10, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 1.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index fell 2.0% compared with the prior week.

The Refinance Index declined 1.0% from the previous week but was 59.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.0% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index declined 2.0% from the previous week but was 20.0% higher than the same week one year ago.

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

“Mortgage rate movements were mixed last week, with the 30-year fixed rate decreasing slightly to 6.42%. Mortgage applications were lower than the week before, as conventional and VA applications saw declines. FHA applications saw a stronger week, and FHA refinance applications in particular increased 12% as the FHA rate stayed more than 10 basis points lower than the conventional fixed rate. Purchase applications declined for the third consecutive week but remained 20% ahead of last year’s pace as improving inventory conditions in certain markets continue to maintain homebuyer interest.”