Mortgage applications inched up for the week ending Nov. 7, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index dipped by 1% compared with the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6% from one week earlier and the unadjusted index rose 3% – the latter was also 31% higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index dropped by 3%, but it was also 147% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity dropped to 55.6% of total applications from 57.0% the previous week.
Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 19.4% from 18.5% the week prior while the VA share of total applications fell slightly to 14.8% from 14.9% and the USDA share of total applications dipped to 0.2% from 0.3%.
“Purchase applications picked up almost 6% over the week to the strongest pace since September, despite mortgage rates increasing slightly, with the 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.34%,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Purchase applications for conventional, FHA, and VA loans increased, as potential homebuyers continue to shop around, particularly in markets where inventory has increased and sales price growth has slowed. Based on the unadjusted purchase index for the week, this was the strongest start to November since 2022. Higher mortgage rates did quell some refinance activity, as conventional and VA refinance applications declined over the week, and the average loan size for refinances dropped to its lowest level in over a month.”
