U.S. Mortgage Applications Took a Breather in the September 19 Week
Summary
- Purchase loan applications edge up 0.3% w/w, and refinancing loan applications rise 0.8% w/w jump.
- Effective interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans falls to 6.15%, the lowest since September 2024.
- Average loan size decline.
Mortgage applications rose 0.6% (31.1% y/y) in the week ending September 19, following the jump of 29.7% (44.7% y/y) in the week ending September 12, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house edged up 0.3% (17.7% y/y) in the latest week, after rising 2.9% (19.1% y/y) in the prior week. Applications for loan refinancing rose 0.8% (42.1% y/y) in the week ending September 19, after jumping 57.7% (69.6% y/y) in the September 12 week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan declined 4bps to 6.51% in the week ending September 19, from 6.55% in the week ending September 12, the lowest since the 6.54% rate reached in the October 4, 2024 week. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose 9bps to 5.87% in the latest week from 5.78% in the September 12 week. The rate on 30-year jumbo loans declined by 5bps to 6.54% in the week ending September 19 from 6.59% in the September 12 week. The rate on a 5-year ARM dropped 9bps to 5.71% in the latest week from 5.80% in the week of September 12, and close to levels last seen in May 2023.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 60.2% of total applications in the week ending September 19 after rising to 59.8% in the week ending September 12. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity dropped to 8.9% in the September 19 week from 12.9% in the September 12 week.
The average size of a mortgage loan declined by 5.0% (+4.0% y/y) to $429,600 in the week ending September 19, after a rise of 12.7% (14.2% y/y) to $452,000 in the week ending September 12. The average size of a purchase loan rose 0.7% (-1.4% y/y) to $441,300 in the week of September 19, after rising 3.4% (0.1% y/y) to $438,100 in the September 12 week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage dropped 8.6% (+9.4% y/y) to $421,800 in the latest week after jumping 22.3% (29.7% y/y) to $461,300 in the September 12 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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