US Mortgage Applications Slip in the Week Ending April 3

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, April 3, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—decreased 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1.0%.

The Refinance Index decreased 3.0% from the previous week and was 4.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.0% from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index increased 1.0% compared with the prior week but was 7.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

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

“Higher mortgage rates and continued economic uncertainty weighed down on mortgage applications again last week. While mortgage rates saw a slight reprieve, with the 30-year fixed rate decreasing to 6.51%, many potential refinance borrowers have been frozen out by the sharp increase over the past month. The pace of refinance applications was at its lowest level since December 2025. Overall purchase activity has also been adversely impacted by current conditions—purchase applications were 7% lower on a year-over-year basis, the first annual decline since January 2025. However, certain loan types and geographic segments are faring better than others because of lower rates on ARM and FHA loans, as well as growing housing inventory in some local markets. Applications for FHA purchase applications were up 5% over the week, supported by the FHA mortgage rate being about 30 basis points lower than the conventional mortgage rate.”