“Mortgage
applications
increased
last
week,
driven
by
continued
strength
in
refinance
activity,
as

mortgage
rates
stayed
near
their
lowest
level
since
2022,”
said
Joel
Kan,
MBA’s
vice
president
and
deputy
chief
economist.
“Refinance
applications
increased
for
the
fourth
straight
week
to
the
strongest
pace
since
2022,
with
conventional
refinances
up
20%.
The
increase
in
the
average
loan
size
for
refinances
indicates
that
more
borrowers
with
larger
loan
sizes
are
seeking
to
lower
their
monthly
payments.

“Purchase
applications
also
moved
higher,
with
the
week’s
pace
almost
10%
ahead
of
last
year’s
pace,
as
lower
rates
and
growing
levels
of
housing
inventory
continue
to
support
homebuyer
interest.”

The

adjustable-rate
mortgage
(ARM)
share
of
activity
increased
to
8.8%
of
total
applications.

The


Federal
Housing
Administration (FHA)
share
of
total
applications
decreased
to
15.8%
from
16.1%
the
week
prior.
The


U.S.
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs (VA)
share
of
total
applications
decreased
to
17.1%
from
18.7%
the
week
prior.

The


U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture (USDA)
share
of
total
applications
remained
unchanged
at
0.4%.

The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
30-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
was
unchanged
from
last
week
at
6.09%.
The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
30-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
backed
by
the
FHA
was
also
unchanged
from
last
week
at
5.97%.

The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
30-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
with
jumbo
loan
balances
decreased
to
6.16%
from
6.20%.

The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
15-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
increased
to
5.49%
from
5.48%,
and
the
average
contract
interest
rate
for
5/1
ARMs
increased
to
5.32%
from
5.23%.

Xactus
Mortgage
Intent
Index

Data
from Xactus‘s Mortgage
Intent
Index —
which
analyzes
aggregated,
anonymized
credit-pull
activity
across
the
Xactus
Intelligent
Verification
Platform
—
saw
a
9.17%
week-over-week
increase
in
activity.

“With
mortgage
rates
falling
to
their
lowest
levels
in
years,
weekly
volume
surged
to
its
highest
point
of
the
year
—
approximately
6.4%
above
the
same
week
in
2025
and
20%
higher
than
the
weather-muted
levels
seen
four
weeks
ago
during
Winter
Storm
Fern,”
said
Thomas
Lloyd,
chief
strategy
officer
for
Xactus.

He
continued,
“On
a
monthly
basis,
the
slow,
weather-impacted
start
to
the
month
fully
rebounded
alongside
the
rate
move,
finishing
roughly
11%
above
January
and
3.26%
higher
than
February
2025.”