Mortgage Application Activity Up 1.6%

Mortgage application activity ended August on the rise, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) covering the week ending Aug. 30.

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index squeaked up by 0.2%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3% from one week earlier while the unadjusted index was up by 1% – the latter was also 4% lower than the same week one year ago. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 5.5% of total applications.

The Refinance Index dipped by 0.3% from the previous week and was 94% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 46.4% of total applications from 46.6% the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 14.6% from 15.3% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 16.7% from 15.9% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4%.

“Purchase applications increased more than 3% over the week and are inching closer to last year’s levels, with government purchase applications leading the increase,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Refinance applications were slightly down but continued to show strong annual gains as borrowers with higher rates have been refinancing to lower their monthly payments. Similar to purchase activity, refinance activity has picked up across the various loan types. The refinance share of applications averaged almost 46% in August, the highest monthly average since March 2022.”