Real Estate

Mortgage Applications Rise 3.4% as 30-Year Rate Falls to 7.37% and ARM Share Reaches a More Than One-Year High

MBA data showed U.S. mortgage applications rose 3.4% in the week ended Oct. 23 as the 30-year fixed rate eased to 7.37%, while purchase applications stayed 18% below a year earlier.

Oct 28, 2026 - 12:21

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U.S. mortgage applications rose in the week ended October 23, 2026, as a second straight weekly decline in borrowing costs drew some buyers and refinancers back to lenders, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday, October 28. Activity nonetheless remained far below year-earlier levels, and a growing share of borrowers turned to adjustable-rate loans.

The MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 3%. The figures come from the association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, which covers closed-end residential mortgage applications taken through retail and consumer-direct channels and has been conducted weekly since 1990.

Rates ease for a second week

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less decreased to 7.37% from 7.41%, with points increasing to 0.76 from 0.75, including the origination fee, for loans with an 80% loan-to-value ratio, the MBA said. Rates also eased across the other loan types the survey tracks:

30-year fixed jumbo loans (balances above $832,750): 7.28%, down from 7.33%.
30-year fixed loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration: 7.12%, down from 7.13%.
15-year fixed loans: 6.70%, down from 6.73%.
5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages: 6.41%, down from 6.46%.

"Mortgage rates declined for the second week in a row, with the 30-year fixed rate decreasing to 7.37 percent, the lowest in three weeks. The decline in rates gave borrowers some relief, with applications rebounding slightly, particularly conventional applications," said Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist. "Mortgage rates are still more than a percentage point higher than the same week last year and most homeowners still have rates much lower than prevailing market rates."

According to the Econoday summary published by CME Group, the 30-year contract rate was 4 basis points lower than the prior week but 7 basis points higher than four weeks earlier and 107 basis points higher than a year earlier.

Purchase and refinance demand still below last year

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 4% from one week earlier, while the unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3% and was 18% lower than the same week one year ago, the MBA said. The Refinance Index increased 3% from the previous week and was 61% lower than a year earlier. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 38.9% of total applications from 39.0%.

"While purchase applications increased over the week, they were 18 percent behind last year's pace as many homebuyers have put their purchase plans on hold," Kan said. "Similarly, refinance applications were down more than 60 percent from a year ago, as most borrowers have little to gain from refinancing."

The Econoday summary, which reports the indexes to one decimal place, put the weekly gains at 3.8% for purchases and 2.7% for refinancing. It said the composite index was 8.7% lower than four weeks earlier and 42.4% lower than a year earlier, while the purchase index was 9.5% below its level four weeks earlier.

Adjustable-rate share climbs

The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 11.3% of total applications, which Kan described as "the highest level in more than a year, as more borrowers applied for ARM loans to lower their monthly payments." Econoday said the ARM share was 10.5% in the prior week and that the adjustable-rate index rose 11.0% week over week, compared with a 2.5% gain in the fixed-rate index.

By loan program, the Federal Housing Administration share of total applications increased to 16.6% from 16.3%, the Department of Veterans Affairs share decreased to 11.0% from 11.5%, and the Department of Agriculture share was unchanged at 0.5%, according to the MBA.

Other indicators and the rate backdrop

HousingWire reported that the Xactus Mortgage Intent Index, which tracks aggregated credit-pull activity, rose to 99.6, about 2.8% higher week over week, but remained more than 20% below the same week last year, according to Xactus chief strategy officer Thomas Lloyd. Mortgage Professional America cited Federal Housing Finance Agency National Mortgage Database figures showing that approximately half of all outstanding mortgage holders carry rates below 4%.

The data arrived on the final day of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. The central bank is scheduled to announce its decision at 2 p.m. ET, and markets are pricing in less than a 10% chance that it follows September's quarter-percentage-point increase with another hike, which would leave its benchmark rate in a range of 3.75% to 4%, according to CNBC's coverage citing CME Group's FedWatch tool. CNBC reported that the 10-year Treasury yield, a key benchmark for mortgage rates, was about 5.03% in late morning trading on Wednesday, up about 3.6 basis points.