MBA Weekly Survey: Mortgage Applications Fall 5.3% for a Seventh Straight Week as 30-Year Rate Eases to 7.41%
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey in Washington on October 21: for the week ending October 16, 2026, mortgage applications decreased 5.3 percent from one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, a seventh straight weekly decline. On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index decreased 5 percent compared with the previous week.
The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week and was 59 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7 percent from one week earlier, and the unadjusted Purchase Index was 18 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.0 percent of total applications from 37.7 percent the previous week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share remained unchanged at 10.5 percent. The FHA share decreased to 16.3 percent from 16.4 percent, the VA share to 11.5 percent from 11.9 percent, and the USDA share to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent.
On rates, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) decreased to 7.41 percent from 7.50 percent, its first decline in over two months. The jumbo 30-year rate fell to 7.33 percent from 7.49 percent, the FHA 30-year rate to 7.13 percent from 7.19 percent, the 15-year fixed rate to 6.73 percent from 6.87 percent, and the 5/1 ARM rate to 6.46 percent from 6.54 percent.
Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, said mortgage rates decreased for the first time in over two months, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping to 7.41 percent, but lower rates were not enough to boost application activity as both purchase and refinance applications continued to decline. Purchase applications fell 18 percent behind last year's pace, he said, as higher rates are pricing buyers out of the market; ARM rates remained almost a full percentage point lower than the 30-year fixed rate, giving qualified borrowers a lower-rate option. He added that the higher mortgage rate environment has clearly cooled the housing market this fall.
The MBA survey, conducted weekly since 1990, covers U.S. closed-end residential mortgage applications originated through retail and consumer direct channels, with respondents including mortgage bankers, commercial banks, thrifts and credit unions.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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