Overview

• MBA reported total mortgage applications fell 1.4% in the week ended Aug. 15 as VA applications slid 16%, with the average 30-year fixed rate edging to 6.68%.
• Seasonally adjusted purchase applications were essentially flat (+0.1%), and refinance activity dipped 3% on the week but remained 23% higher than a year earlier.
• The previous week’s decline in rates to about 6.67% had lifted the Refinance Index 23% to its highest level since early 2023.
• July Builder Application Survey data showed new-home purchase applications up 6.8% year over year and 7% from June, and MBA estimated a 685,000 annualized pace of new single-family sales.
• Average new-home loan size fell to $372,745 as FHA’s share reached 35.3%, reflecting more lower-balance, first-time-buyer loans supported by builder concessions and increased inventory.