Mortgage Applications Increased 6.3 Percent From One Week Earlier

Mortgage applications increased 6.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 22, 2024. 

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week and was 119 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 12 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent compared with the previous week and was 52 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

“Purchase activity drove overall applications higher last week, as conventional purchase applications picked up pace and mortgage rates declined for the first time in over two months, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping slightly to 6.86 percent,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. With the growth in for-sale inventory and signs that the economy remains strong, buyers have remained in the market even though rates have increased recently. The increase in conventional purchase applications helped push the average purchase loan size to $439,200, its highest level in almost a month. The decline in refinance activity was driven by pullbacks in FHA and VA refinances. Applications were significantly higher than a year ago by most measures, but this was compared to the week of Thanksgiving 2023, which was a week earlier than this year’s holiday.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 38.8 percent of total applications from 41.0 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.6 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 16.0 percent from 16.6 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.4 percent from 13.6 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.5 percent from 0.4 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.86 percent from 6.90 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.70 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) decreased to 6.97 percent from 7.03 percent, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.53 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 6.61 percent from 6.68 percent, with points increasing to 0.99 from 0.90 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.29 percent from 6.32 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.76 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs remained unchanged at 6.34 percent, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.