Applications for home purchases dipped again this week following mortgage rates moving higher, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending October 4, 2024.
MBA reported that mortgage applications decreased 5.1% from one week earlier, when they dipped 1.3%. Overall applications are still up over this time last year, with MBA reporting that the unadjusted Purchase Index was 8% higher than the same week one year ago and the Refinance Index at a notable 159% higher than the same week one year ago.
“In the wake of stronger economic data last week, including the September jobs report, mortgage rates moved higher, with the 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.36%–the highest since August,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and chief economist. “Conventional loan refinances, which tend to have larger balances than government loans and hence are more responsive for a given change in mortgage rates, fell to a greater extent over the week. Purchase application volume was little changed over the week and was 8% above last year’s level.”
According to MBA’s weekly report, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 5% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 9% from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.1% from one week earlier.
“As we have highlighted before, the decision to buy a home is impacted by many factors, not just the level of mortgage rates,” added Fratantoni. “The largest constraint for many prospective homebuyers over the past year had been the lack of inventory. Now, there are more homes available in many markets across the country, and with mortgage rates still low compared to recent history, at least some potential homebuyers are moving ahead.”
More data from MBA this week: The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 52.4% of total applications from 54.9% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.9% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 16.2% from 16.6% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 16.9% from 15.4% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4% from the week prior.
MBA breaks down mortgage application activity tracking shares of FHA, VA, USDA, conforming loans, jumbo loans and more. To see the full list, visit: https://www.mba.org/news-and-research/newsroom/news/2024/10/09/mortgage-applications-decrease-in-latest-mba-weekly-survey
