Rising interest rates have pushed mortgage application volume lower, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
“Activity has been particularly sensitive to rate movements, and last week’s decline was driven by a drop in conventional and FHA refinance applications, which offset an increase in VA refinance applications,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “All mortgage rates in MBA’s survey increased, with the 30-year fixed-rate climbing to 3.2%.”
MBA’s Market Composite Index dropped 2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis and was down by 4% on an unadjusted basis for the week ending November 12. The refinance index fell 5%, while the purchase index increased 2% week over week.