Mortgage Apps Decrease Following Weeks On The Rise

Following four consecutive weeks on the up and up, mortgage applications decreased 1.9 percent for the week ending December 2, 2022, compared to the week prior.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, on an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 36 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 5 percent from the previous week and was 86 percent lower than the same week one year ago. 

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 31 percent compared with the previous week and was 40 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage applications decreased 2 percent compared to the Thanksgiving holiday-adjusted results from the previous week, even as mortgage rates continued to trend lower. Rates decreased for most loan products, with the 30-year fixed declining 8 basis points to 6.41 percent after reaching 7.16 percent in October,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “The 30-year fixed rate was 73 basis points lower than a month ago – but was still more than three percentage points higher than in December 2021. Additionally, the pace of refinancing remained around 80 percent lower than a year ago.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 28.7 percent of total applications from 26.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 7.6 percent of total applications.