WASHINGTON — Mortgage applications increased 0.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Nov. 8, 2024.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 2% from the previous week and was 43% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2% compared with the previous week and was 1% higher than the same week one year ago, MBA said.
“Mortgage rates continued to increase last week, driven by higher Treasury yields as financial markets digested the likely impacts of a Trump presidency. The Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point rate cut was already anticipated and did little to move the markets,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “The 30-year fixed rate was at 6.86% last week, its highest since July 2024. However, despite the increase in rates, applications increased for the first time in seven weeks.
“Purchase applications picked up and remained close to levels from a year ago,” continued Kan. “FHA and VA purchase applications drove the stronger overall purchase activity, increasing 3% and 9%, respectively. FHA mortgage rates bucked the overall trend and were lower over the week, which likely helped some borrowers. Conventional purchase applications were also up slightly. Meanwhile, the upward climb in rates led to refinance activity falling to its lowest level since May 2024.”
Refi Share
The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 39.9% of total applications from 39.9% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.5% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 16.0% from 15.5% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 13.3% from 12.5% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5% from the week prior, MBA said.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) increased to 6.86% from 6.81%, with points decreasing to 0.60 from 0.68 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week, MBA noted.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) increased to 7.00% from 6.98%, with points decreasing to 0.48 from 0.65 (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 6.69% from 6.75%, with points decreasing to 0.76 from 0.87 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week, MBA said.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 6.21%, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.55 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 6.06% from 6.05%, with points decreasing to 0.64 from 0.84 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week, MBA added.