U.S. Mortgage Applications Edged Down in the August 14
Summary
- Applications for loans to purchase declined, while applications for loan refinancing rose in the latest week.
- Interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans was unchanged at 6.96%.
- Average loan size declined.
Mortgage applications edged down 0.4% w/w (-10.6% y/y) in the week ending August 14, after rising 3.6% w/w (-11.6% y/y) in the week ending August 7, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house declined 2.0% w/w (-3.4% y/y) in the latest week, following a rise of 2.5% (-1.4% y/y) in the August 7 week. Applications for loan refinancing rose 1.5% w/w (-18.4% y/y) in the August 14 week after rising 5.0% w/w (-22.2% y/y) in the August 7 week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was unchanged at 6.96% in the week ending August 14 from the week ending August 7, remaining at levels not seen since July/August 2025. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined 4bps to 6.29% in the August 14 week from 6.33% in the August 7 week. The 30-year Jumbo rate edged up 2ps to 6.85% in the latest week from 6.83% in the in the August 7 week. The rate on a 5-year ARM declined by 4bps to 6.26% in the August 14 week from 6.30% in the August 7 week.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 41.9% of total applications in the week of August 14 from 40.7% in the week ending August 7. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity declined to 7.7% in the latest week from 7.9% in the August 7 week.
The average size of a mortgage declined by 1.4% w/w (-3.5% y/y) to $374,100 in the week ending August 14 after inching down 0.7% w/w (-4.9% y/y) to $379,300 in the week ending August 7. The average size of a purchase loan edged down 0.2% w/w (+2.7% y/y) to $440,500 in the August 14 week after a similar decline of 0.2% w/w (+3.4% y/y) to $441,300 in the August 7 week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage dropped 2.4% w/w (-17.0% y/y) to $282,200 in the latest week after declining 0.7% w/w (-21.1% y/y) to $289,200 in the August 7 week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association Survey covers 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. The figures for weekly mortgage applications and interest rates are available in Haver’s SURVEYS database.
Kathleen Stephansen, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Kathleen Stephansen is a Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and an Independent Trustee for the EQAT/VIP/1290 Trust Funds, encompassing the US mutual funds sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Company. She is a former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies USA, Senior Economic Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management’s Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen held various positions as Chief Economist or Head of Global Research at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation.
Kathleen serves on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), as Vice-Chair of the GIC College of Central Bankers, is the Treasurer for Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain and graduate degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire (MA) and the London School of Economics (PhD abd).
More Economy in Brief
Global