Mortgage application activity saw relatively little movement for the week ending Aug. 14, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, dipped by a scant 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index was 1% lower from the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was down by 2% from one week earlier while the unadjusted index dropped by 3% – the latter was also 3% lower than the same week one year ago.
The Refinance Index increased 2% from the previous week and was 18% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 41.9% of total applications from 40.7% in the previous week.
Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 17.1% from 17.3% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 12.6% from 12.3% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5%.
“Mortgage rates and applications changed little last week, with just a slight increase in refinances for conventional and VA loans, while FHA refinances were lower,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Borrowers with larger loan sizes remain less likely to refinance with rates at these higher levels. The average loan size on refinances continues to shrink, dipping to $282,200 last week, the lowest level since June 2025. Purchase applications decreased and were also lower than last year’s pace. In addition to the economic uncertainty, affordability difficulties have reemerged as a reason for homebuyers to delay purchase decisions given the impact of higher mortgage rates on monthly mortgage payments.”
Separately, the MBA reported independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks generated a pre-tax net production profit of $973 on each loan they originated in the second quarter, compared to a net production profit of $727 per loan in the first quarter.
“Average net production profits remained positive for the fifth consecutive quarter, continuing the industry’s turnaround from widespread losses between 2022 and 2024,” said Marina Walsh MBA’s vice president of industry analysis. “Average production volume per firm was $689 million, the highest level since the second quarter of 2022. While production revenues dropped from the previous quarter as gain-on-sale margins narrowed, production expenses also decreased, reaching their lowest level in basis points since the third quarter of 2021.”
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