Mortgage Applications Fall to Lowest Level Since May

Real Estate In-Depth • July 30, 2025

WASHINGTON — Mortgage applications decreased 3.8% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 25, 2025.

The Market Composite Index was released today (July 30. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 1% from the previous week and was 30% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6% compared with the previous week and was 17% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage applications fell to their lowest level since May, with both purchase and refinance activity declining over the week. There is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the economy and job market, which is weighing on prospective homebuyers’ decisions,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.

He added, “The 30-year fixed rate was little changed at 6.83%, but high enough that there was not much interest in refinancing, pushing the refinance index lower for the third straight week. Purchase applications decreased by almost 6%, as applications for conventional, FHA, and VA purchase loans fell, despite slowing home-price growth and increasing levels of for-sale inventory in many regions.”

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.83% from 6.84%, with points decreasing to 0.60 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $806,500) decreased to 6.74% from 6.75%, with points decreasing to 0.51 from 0.70 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.56% from 6.52%, with points increasing to 0.83 from 0.79 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.12% from 6.14%, with points decreasing to 0.64 from 0.69 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 6.22% from 6.01%, with points increasing to 0.51 from 0.28 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 40.7% of total applications from 39.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.3% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 18.8% from 18.7% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.2% from 12.6% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.6% from the week prior.

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