Mortgage Application Activity in Mild Uptick

Mortgage application activity inched up for the week ending Nov. 8, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index was down by 2%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% from one week earlier, but the unadjusted index decreased 2% – the latter was also 1% higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index decreased 2% from the previous week and was 43% higher than the same week one year ago, while the refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 39.9%.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 16.0% from 15.5% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 13.3% from 12.5% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5%.

Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, observed, “Purchase applications picked up and remained close to levels from a year ago. FHA and VA purchase applications drove the stronger overall purchase activity, increasing 3% and 9%, respectively. FHA mortgage rates bucked the overall trend and were lower over the week, which likely helped some borrowers. Conventional purchase applications were also up slightly. Meanwhile, the upward climb in rates led to refinance activity falling to its lowest level since May 2024.”