US Mortgage Applications Fall in the Week Ending October 30

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, October 30, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2.0%.

The Refinance Index increased 0.1% from the previous week but was 60% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased 4% compared with the prior week and was 19% lower than the same week one year ago.

In remarks accompanying the release, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni said:

“Mortgage rates drifted down to their lowest level since September 2026 last week in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold on additional rate hikes at its October meeting. While the 30-year rate declined to 7.3%, activity is still quite slow, with purchase application volume down for the week and refinance volume effectively flat at a very low level. As we have highlighted in recent weeks, more borrowers are choosing ARMs in this environment to lower their initial payments, with the ARM share at its highest level since September 2025.”