Slight Uptick In Mortgage Application Activity

Mortgage application activity recorded a slight uptick last week, according to new data from Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the trade group’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, inched up by 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis week-over-week while the unadjusted index was up by 1%.

Both the seasonally adjusted and the unadjusted Purchase Index was up by 1% compared with the previous week, while the unadjusted index was down 19% lower than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index saw a 0.3% bump-up from the previous week and was 9% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 31.6% of total applications from 31.7% in the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 14.4% from 14.5% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 10.2% from 10.1% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5%.

“While most mortgage rates increased last week, rates on ARMs declined, leading to an increase in ARM volume and an increase in overall applications,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “The level of ARM applications increased by 15% over the week, bringing the ARM share up to 9.2% of all applications, the highest since November 2022. The yield curve has become less inverted in recent weeks and ARM pricing has certainly improved.”