The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports yet another decline in overall mortgage application volume during the week ending November 4. Applications for purchase mortgages did increase slightly, reversing a six-week downhill slide. MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measure of total application volume, was down another 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and was 2 percent lower on an unadjusted basis. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 87 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 28.1 percent from 28.6 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index gained 1 percent from one week earlier while the unadjusted Purchase Index was 2 percent lower. Application volume is now 41 percent lower than during the same week in 2021. [purchaseappschart] “Mortgage rates edged higher last week following news that the Federal Reserve will continue raising short-term rates to combat high inflation,” Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist said. “The 30-year fixed rate remained above 7 percent for the third consecutive week, with increases for most loan types. Purchase applications increased for the first time after six weeks of declines but remained close to 2015 lows, as homebuyers remained sidelined by higher rates and ongoing economic uncertainty. Refinances continued to fall, with the index hitting its lowest level since August 2000.”
