by Calculated Risk on 9/10/2025 07:00:00 AM
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications increased 9.2 percent from
one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage
Applications Survey for the week ending September 5, 2025. This week’s results include an adjustment
for the Labor Day holiday.The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 9.2 percent on
a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3
percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 12 percent from the previous
week and was 34 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase
Index increased 7 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent
compared with the previous week and was 23 percent higher than the same week one year ago.“Mortgage rates declined for the second consecutive week as Treasury yields moved lower on data
indicating that the labor market is weakening. The 30-year fixed rate decreased to 6.49 percent, down 20
basis points over the past two weeks to the lowest since October 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice
President and Deputy Chief Economist. “The downward rate movement spurred the strongest week of
borrower demand since 2022, with both purchase and refinance applications moving higher. Purchase
applications increased to the highest level since July and continued to run more than 20 percent ahead of
last year’s pace. There was also a pickup in ARM applications, both in terms of level and share, as ARM
rates were considerably lower than fixed rate loans, which typically benefits homebuyers.”Added Kan, “The holiday-adjusted refinance index had its strongest week in a year and the average loan
size for refinances also increased significantly, since borrowers with large loans are more sensitive to
bigger rate moves. Refinance applications accounted for almost 49 percent of all applications last week.”
…
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances
($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.49 percent from 6.64 percent, with points decreasing to 0.56 from 0.59
(including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.
According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 23% year-over-year unadjusted.
Red is a four-week average (blue is weekly).
The refinance index has increased from the bottom but remains low.
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