Amid recent economic uncertainty, homebuyers and owners took advantage of falling mortgage rates that dipped to their lowest point since October of last year, driving a 20% surge in purchase applications and a 35% increase in refinance applications.
According to the latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ending April 4, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 20% from the previous week’s 1.6% decrease. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 20% compared with the previous week.
“Mortgage applications increased by 20% to its highest level since September 2024, driven by purchase and refinance applications picking up in a volatile week where economic uncertainty caused rates to drop across the board,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.61%, the lowest rate since October 2024. Both homebuyers and refinance borrowers were quick to take advantage of this dip in rates, driving the purchase index 24% higher than a year ago to the strongest pace since January 2024.”
The Refinance Index was 93% higher than the same week one year ago, MBA reported. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 9% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 10% compared with the previous week and was 24% higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.6% of total applications from 38.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.6% of total applications.
“Refinance applications rose by 35% to the highest level in six months, as borrowers with larger loan sizes tend to be more sensitive to rate changes,” Kan added. “The average refinance loan size jumped to its second highest in the survey at $399,600.”
To view all of this week’s mortgage application data, click here.
