Residential Real Estate News
U.S. Mortgage Applications Spike 11 Percent in Early March
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 7, 2025, U.S. mortgage applications saw an 11.2% increase compared to the previous week.
The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, rose 11.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 12% on an unadjusted basis from the prior week. The Refinance Index climbed 16% week-over-week and was 90% higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 7%, with the unadjusted Purchase Index up 8% from the previous week and 4% higher than the same week in 2024.
"Mortgage rates declined for the sixth straight week, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping to 6.67%, its lowest level since October 2024. This drove an increase in applications, which were up 31% year-over-year," said Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. "As we enter the spring homebuying season, purchase activity was up across all loan categories, with government-backed purchase applications rising 11%, supported by the FHA rate decline to 6.34%. Additionally, the average purchase loan size hit $460,800--the highest recorded in the survey dating back to 1990."
Refinance applications accounted for 45.6% of total activity, up from 43.8% the prior week. The share of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) applications rose to 7.2%.
- The FHA share of total applications declined to 16.1% from 16.7% the previous week.
- The VA share of applications increased to 15.9% from 14.6%.
- The USDA share dipped to 0.4% from 0.5%.
U.S. mortgage rates continued their downward trend:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (conforming loans ≤ $806,500): Dropped to 6.67% from 6.73%, with points rising to 0.63 from 0.60.
- 30-year fixed-rate jumbo loans (> $806,500): Fell to 6.68% from 6.83%, with points increasing to 0.48 from 0.47.
- 30-year FHA-backed mortgages: Declined to 6.34% from 6.42%, with points decreasing to 0.74 from 0.79.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: Dropped to 6.04% from 6.12%, with points rising to 0.68 from 0.64.
- 5/1 ARMs: Decreased to 5.81% from 5.85%, though points climbed to 0.72 from 0.41.
The overall effective rate declined for most mortgage products, except for ARMs, where it slightly increased.
