Mortgage application activity slowed during the week ending March 20, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 10.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index fell by an even 10%.
Both the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 5% from one week earlier – the latter was also 5% higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index fell 15% from the previous week and was 52% higher than the same week one year ago, while the refinance share of mortgage activity shrank to 49.6% of total applications from 52.3% the previous week.
Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 19.7% from 19.4% the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 15.9% from 16.7% and the USDA share of total applications inched up to 0.5% from 0.4% the week prior.
“The threat of higher-for-longer oil prices continued to keep Treasury yields elevated, and mortgage rates finished last week higher. The 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.43%, more than 30 basis points higher than at the end of February and at its highest level since October 2025,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Given this period of increasing mortgage rates and diminishing refinance incentives, refinance applications decreased 15% as applications across all loan types declined. Purchase applications were also down last week, as higher mortgage rates, coupled with affordability constraints and economic uncertainty, pushed some potential homebuyers to the sidelines.”
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