MBA: Purchase Loan Applications At Lowest Level Since 1995

Mortgage application activity was down for the third consecutive week, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the trade group’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, was down by 2.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Oct. 27 from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index was down by 3%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was 1% lower week-over-week while the unadjusted index was down 2% compared with the previous week and was 22% lower than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index dropped 4% from the previous week and was 12% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity dipped to 31.2% of total applications from 31.4% in the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 14.7% from 15.2% the week prior while the VA share of total applications shrank to 10.1% from 10.5% and the USDA share of total applications increased to 0.5% from 0.4%.

“Purchase applications decreased to their lowest level since 1995 and refinance applications to the lowest level since January 2023,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Applications for government loans saw much larger weekly declines than conventional, with government purchase applications down 3% and refinances down 9%. As higher rates continue to impact affordability and purchasing power, ARM loans increased almost 10% last week and continued to gain share, growing to 10.7% of all applications.”