Mortgage Applications Decreased 8.5 Percent From One Week Earlier

Mortgage applications decreased 8.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 22, 2026.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 8.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 18 percent from the previous week and was 19 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 5 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

“The 30-year fixed rate has increased 30 basis points over the past five weeks to its highest level since August 2025. With the rate now at 6.65 percent, many borrowers understandably backed away from refinancing last week,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “There were large declines in applications across loan types – conventional refinances were down 14 percent, along with an 18 percent decrease for FHA applications and a 34 percent decrease for VA applications. Overall, refinance applications accounted for 38 percent of applications, the lowest share since June 2025.”

Added Kan, “Purchase applications were slightly lower across all loan types but still ran at a stronger pace than last year’s pace. The average loan size for a purchase application reached another survey high at $473,600, as borrowers with smaller loan sizes were less active given the higher rate environment and its negative impact on their purchasing power.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.5 percent of total applications from 41.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 9.4 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 17.2 percent from 17.9 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 13.2 percent from 14.4 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 ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.65 percent from 6.56 percent, with points increasing to 0.65 from 0.60 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $832,750) increased to 6.68 percent from 6.58 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.31 percent from 6.24 percent, with points increasing to 0.79 from 0.67 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.97 percent from 5.93 percent, with points increasing to 0.84 from 0.73 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.81 percent from 5.76 percent, with points decreasing to 0.82 from 0.85 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.