US Mortgage Applications Fall in the Week Ending September 18

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, September 18, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 9%.

The Refinance Index decreased 3% from the previous week and was 62% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index increased 9% compared with the prior week but was 11% 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 vaulted higher last week, with the 30-year fixed rate at 7.12%—the highest level since May 2024. With fixed rates much higher, more borrowers opted for ARMs, with the ARM share reaching 9.8%, as rates for 5/1 ARMs were more than a percentage point lower than those for fixed rate loans. Applications for both refinance and purchase loans declined further last week, noting that the comparison is to the week that included the Labor Day holiday. With this week’s decline, the pace of refinancing fell to its slowest pace since February 2025.”