WASHINGTON—Mortgage applications increased 6.3% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Nov. 22, 2024.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 6.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 3% from the previous week and was 119% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 12% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 7% compared with the previous week and was 52% higher than the same week one year ago.
“Purchase activity drove overall applications higher last week, as conventional purchase applications picked up pace and mortgage rates declined for the first time in over two months, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping slightly to 6.86%,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
With the growth in for-sale inventory and signs that the economy remains strong, buyers have remained in the market even though rates have increased recently. The increase in conventional purchase applications helped push the average purchase loan size to $439,200, its highest level in almost a month, MBA said.
“The decline in refinance activity was driven by pullbacks in FHA and VA refinances. Applications were significantly higher than a year ago by most measures, but this was compared to the week of Thanksgiving 2023, which was a week earlier than this year’s holiday,” Kan said.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 38.8% of total applications from 41.0% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.6% of total applications.
FHA Share
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 16.0% from 16.6% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.4% from 13.6% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.5% from 0.4% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.86% from 6.90%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.70 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week, MBA said.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) decreased to 6.97% from 7.03%, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.53 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 6.61% from 6.68%, with points increasing to 0.99 from 0.90 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.29% from 6.32%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.76 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs remained unchanged at 6.34%, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week, MBA said.