U.S. weekly mortgage applications increase 0.3 percent

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Wednesday the mortgage application volume in the U.S. went up 0.3 percent in the week ended September 10, following a 1.9 percent fall in the previous week. This marked the first advance in total mortgage application volume in the last three weeks.

According to the report, applications to purchase a home surged 7.5 percent, while refinance applications dropped 3.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate remained unchanged at 3.03.

“Purchase applications - after adjusting for the impact of Labor Day - increased over 7 percent last week to their highest level since April 2021,” noted Joel Kan, MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Compared to the same week last September, which was right in the middle of a significant upswing in home purchases, applications were down 11 percent - the smallest year-over-year decline in 14 weeks." He added that both conventional and government purchase applications increased, while the average loan size for a purchase application rose to $396,800. "The very competitive purchase market continues to put upward pressure on sales prices. While the 30-year fixed rate was unchanged at just over 3 percent, it was not enough to drive more refinance activity. Refinance applications slipped to their slowest pace since early July, and the refinance share of applications fell to 65 percent, which was also the lowest since July.”