Mortgage rates fall third week; applications drop 1.2% — SkimNews
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- Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume down 1.2% week over week, continuing the slide despite a third straight weekly decline in mortgage rates.
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming balances of $832,750 or less averaged 7.3%, down from 7.37%; points fell to 0.75 from 0.76, including the origination fee, for 20%-down borrowers.
- Mike Fratantoni said mortgage rates drifted to their lowest level since September 2026 in the wake of the Federal Reserve's October decision not to add rate hikes.
- Refinance demand rose 0.1% for the week but was 60% lower than a year earlier, as mortgage rates remained about a percentage point above year-ago levels and left borrowers little incentive to refinance.
- Purchase applications fell 2% week over week and 19% year over year, while the housing market showed no signs of thawing after September's sharp rate increase.
- 5/1 ARMs saw their average rate fall to 6.29% from 6.41%, while their application share reached its highest level since September 2025 as borrowers chose lower initial payments despite future-reset risk.
- Mortgage News Daily reported rates edged slightly higher to start the week after a hotter-than-expected job-openings report; Matthew Graham said stronger labor data tends to pressure rates upward, while tech-stock weakness had driven recent declines.
Why it matters: For prospective buyers, the rate relief was mostly nominal: the average 30-year fixed rate fell to 7.3%, yet remained about a percentage point higher than a year earlier and purchase applications were 19% lower than a year before. Lower rates did not reopen the purchase market, while refinancing stayed 60% below year-ago volume.
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