Mortgage Application Activity At Highest Level In Six Weeks

The mortgage market is heading into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend on the upswing, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) tracking the week ending Nov. 17.

The Market Composite Index, the trade group’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index dipped by a scant 0.1% compared with the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 4% from one week earlier, but the unadjusted index was down by 1% compared with the previous week and was 20% lower than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index increased 2% from the previous week and was 4% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 32.4% of total applications from 31.9% in the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 14.8% from 14.4% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 11.3% from 11.2% and the USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5% the week prior.

Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, stated, “Mortgage applications increased to their highest level in six weeks, but remain at very low levels. Purchase applications were up almost four percent over the week, on a seasonally adjusted basis, as both conventional and government purchase loans saw increases. The average loan size on a purchase application was $403,600, the lowest since January 2023. This is consistent with other sources of home sales data showing a gradually increasing first-time homebuyer share.”