Overview
- Mortgage applications fell 3.8% in the week ending Dec. 12, with purchase loans down 3% seasonally adjusted and refinance applications down 4% from the prior week, MBA reported.
- The refinance share rose to 59% of activity, the highest since September, as seasonal year‑end patterns pulled purchase demand lower.
- Freddie Mac put the average 30‑year fixed rate at 6.21% and the 15‑year at 5.47% this week, little changed as the 10‑year Treasury yield held near recent levels.
- Rates edged up after the Fed’s Dec. 10 cut as investors repriced the outlook, contributing to softer loan demand despite policy easing.
- MBA’s Builder Application Survey showed November new‑home purchase applications up 3.1% year over year but down 7% from October, with an estimated 755,000 SAAR and a lower average loan size of $378,063.