WASHINGTON—Mortgage applications decreased 12.7% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 18, 2025.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 12.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 11% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 20% from the previous week and was 43% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6% compared with the previous week and was 6% higher than the same week one year ago, MBA said.
“Overall mortgage application activity declined last week, as rates increased to their highest level in two months. The 30-year fixed rate rose for the second straight week to 6.9%, an almost 30-basis-point increase over two weeks,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.
“These higher rates drove a 20% drop in refinance applications, especially for higher balance loans, with the average loan size falling substantially,” continued Kan. “The refinance share of applications at 37.3% was the lowest since January. Similar to the previous week, economic uncertainty and rate volatility impacted prospective homebuyers as we saw a 7% decline in purchase applications. Both conventional and government purchase activity fell relative to the week before, but the overall level of purchase applications was still 6% higher than a year ago.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.3% of total applications from 41.3% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.5% of total applications.
FHA Share
The FHA share of total applications increased to 16.7% from 15.8% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 13.4% from 13.7% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) increased to 6.90% from 6.81%, with points increasing to 0.66 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week, MBA said.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $806,500) increased to 6.90% from 6.84%, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.56% from 6.52%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.82 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.20% from 6.11%, with points decreasing to 0.58 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans, MBA said.
The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 6.01% from 6.11%, with points decreasing to 0.48 from 0.56 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.