Residential Real Estate News
U.S. Mortgage Applications Increase in Late October
New data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows that mortgage applications rose by 6.3% for the week ending November 22, 2024.
Key Highlights:
- Market Composite Index: Increased 6.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the Index rose by 3%.
- Refinance Activity: Dropped by 3% from the prior week but remained 119% higher than the same week in 2023.
- Purchase Applications: Seasonally adjusted Purchase Index climbed 12%, while the unadjusted index rose 7% from the prior week and was 52% higher than the same week last year.
"Purchase activity drove the overall increase in applications as conventional purchase applications accelerated, supported by a slight drop in mortgage rates," said Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. "The 30-year fixed rate fell to 6.86%, the first decline in over two months. Buyers remain active despite recent rate increases, buoyed by stronger economic conditions and more available housing inventory. The rise in conventional purchase applications pushed the average loan size to $439,200, the highest in nearly a month. Meanwhile, refinance activity declined, particularly for FHA and VA loans, though activity remains significantly higher than a year ago, partly due to the timing of Thanksgiving in 2023 versus 2024."
Overall, the effective interest rates decreased across most loan categories last week.
Market Shares:
- Refinance Activity: Dropped to 38.8% of total applications from 41.0% the previous week.
- Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMs): Increased to 6.6% of total applications.
- FHA Applications: Decreased to 16.0% from 16.6%.
- VA Applications: Decreased to 12.4% from 13.6%.
- USDA Applications: Increased slightly to 0.5% from 0.4%.
Average Contract Interest Rates:
- 30-Year Fixed-Rate (Conforming Loans, ≤ $766,550): Dropped to 6.86% (from 6.90%), with points steady at 0.70.
- 30-Year Fixed-Rate (Jumbo Loans, > $766,550): Decreased to 6.97% (from 7.03%), with points rising to 0.63 (from 0.53).
- FHA 30-Year Fixed-Rate Loans: Fell to 6.61% (from 6.68%), with points increasing to 0.99 (from 0.90).
- 15-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgages: Declined to 6.29% (from 6.32%), with points unchanged at 0.76.
- 5/1 ARMs: Held steady at 6.34%, but points increased to 0.63 (from 0.42).
