Overview
- Total mortgage application volume fell 5.3% for the week ending Oct. 16–22, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, extending a multiweek slide in demand.
- Freddie Mac’s 30‑year fixed rate eased about 8 basis points to roughly 7.32% this week, the first weekly decline since August, but analysts warn the move may be temporary.
- Applications to buy homes dropped 7% from the prior week and were about 18% lower than a year earlier, while refinance requests fell 2% week‑over‑week and remain roughly 59% below last year’s level.
- Adjustable‑rate mortgages held a 10.5% share of applications as ARM rates sit about one percentage point below 30‑year fixed loans, giving some buyers a lower short‑term option.
- A large cohort of pandemic‑era loans with rates under 4% is keeping many homeowners from listing, which constrains inventory and, combined with forecasters’ projections of 7%‑plus rates into 2027, makes a broad market recovery unlikely without materially lower Treasury yields or more new construction.