by Calculated Risk on 4/09/2025 07:00:00 AM

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications increased 20.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2025.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 20.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 20 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 35 percent from the previous week and was 93 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 9 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 10 percent compared with the previous week and was 24 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage applications increased by 20 percent to its highest level since September 2024, driven by purchase and refinance applications picking up in a volatile week where economic uncertainty caused rates to drop across the board. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.61 percent, the lowest rate since October 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Both homebuyers and refinance borrowers were quick to take advantage of this dip in rates, driving the purchase index 24 percent higher than a year ago to the strongest pace since January 2024. Refinance applications rose by 35 percent to the highest level in six months, as borrowers with larger loan sizes tend to be more sensitive to rate changes. The average refinance loan size jumped to its second highest in the survey at $399,600.”
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The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.61 percent from 6.70 percent, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.

According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 24% year-over-year unadjusted. 

Red is a four-week average (blue is weekly).  

Purchase application activity is up about 38% from the lows in late October 2023 and is 14% above the lowest levels during the housing bust.  

The second graph shows the refinance index since 1990.

The refinance index increased but remained very low.

Weekly Schedule