U.S. Mortgage Applications Fell in the October 2 Week
Summary
- Applications for loans to purchase and applications for loan refinancing both declined in the latest week.
- Interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans jumped 21bps to 7.73%.
- Average loan size fell moderately in the October 2 week.
Mortgage applications fell 4.2% w/w (-36.6% y/y) in the week ending October 2, the fifth consecutive weekly decline, after declining 6.0% w/w (-37.0% y/y) in the week ending September 25, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house fell 2.1% w/w (-14.9% y/y) in the latest week, after declining 4.3% w/w (-14.2% y/y) in the September 25 week. Applications for loan refinancing dropped 7.5% w/w (-56.3% y/y) in the October 2 week, the seventh consecutive weekly decline, following a decline of 8.7% w/w (-56.4% y/y) in the September 25 week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan jumped 21bps to 7.73% in the week ending October 2 from 7.52% in the week ending September 25, reaching its highest level since November 2023. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose 16bps to 6.97% in the October 2 week from 6.81% in the September 25 week. The 30-year Jumbo rate increased 12bps to 7.54% in the latest week from 7.42% in the September 25 week. The rate on a 5-year ARM rose 13bps to 7.05% in the October 2 week from 6.92% in the September 25 week.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan fell to 37.0% of total applications in the week of October 2 from 38.3% in the week ending September 25. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity was unchanged at 10.3% in the latest week.
The average size of a mortgage fell 1.7% w/w (-5.1% y/y) to $377,700 in the week ending October 2, after rising 0.9% w/w (-5.8% y/y) to $384,200 in the week ending September 25. The average size of a purchase loan declined 0.6% w/w to $448,400 in the October 2 week after rising 0.9% w/w to $450,900 in the September 25 week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage fell 7.0% w/w to $257,200 in the week ending October 2 after declining 0.6% w/w to $276,700 in the September 25 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).
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