The last two weeks of mortgage application metrics have shown sizable increases.
According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report, the Market Composite Index—the measure of mortgage loan activity volume—increased 14.1% from one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Jan. 16, following last week’s notable 28.5% increase for the week ending Jan. 9. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 17% compared with the previous week.
“Mortgage rates declined further last week, driving another big week for refinance applications, which saw the strongest level of activity since September 2025. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.16 percent, the lowest rate since September 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.
Added Kan, “Purchase applications were also up over the week, fueled by an 8 percent increase in conventional loan activity, and were almost 18 percent higher than last year.”
According to MBA, the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 61.9% of total applications from 60.2% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7.1% of total applications.
The government-backed loans were mixed this week, with the FHA share of total applications decreasing to 15.9% from 19.2% the week prior, the VA share of total applications increasing to 16.2% from 16.1 percent the week prior and the USDA share of total applications remaining unchanged at 0.4% from the week prior.
“These lower rates prompted greater refinance activity from conventional and VA refinance borrowers, with increases of 29 percent and 26 percent, respectively,” noted Kan. “Refinance applications accounted for more than 60 percent of applications, and the average loan size also moved higher.”
Click here for the full report.
