Overview
- The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.97% for the week ending Sept. 11, the highest weekly reading since May 2025.
- Total mortgage applications fell 4.1% from the prior week, purchase applications were down 1% for the week and 19% year-over-year, and refinance requests plunged 9% for the week and 65% from a year earlier.
- Analysts say higher Treasury yields are the main driver, with climbing oil prices, stronger inflation expectations and geopolitical tensions tied to the Israel-Iran conflict pushing yields up.
- The rate increase is raising monthly payments by hundreds of dollars on typical loans, squeezing affordability for marginal buyers and discouraging homeowners with low-rate mortgages from listing, which keeps supply constrained.
- Short-term volatility has pushed some industry measures above 7%—Mortgage News Daily recorded a 7.22% intraday rate—and markets are watching the Fed's Sept. 16 move for signals that could widen or ease borrowing costs.