Figures showed a modest dip despite rates retreating from recent highs
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Mortgage applications edged lower in the latest weekly survey, underlining how fragile demand remained despite a pullback in borrowing costs and a welcome rise in purchase activity.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Nov. 28, which included the Thanksgiving holiday.
On an unadjusted basis, overall activity sank by a third, although purchase and refinance volumes stayed well above year-ago levels.
Rates retreat but borrowers stayed cautious
The average contract interest rate on 30-year fixed mortgages with conforming balances dropped to 6.32% from 6.40%, while 30-year jumbo rates slipped to 6.40% from 6.49%.
Rates on 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages eased to 5.40%, their lowest level since mid-2023.
“Mortgage rates moved lower in line with Treasury yields, which declined on data showing a weaker labor market and declining consumer confidence. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined to 6.32 percent after steadily increasing over the past month,” said Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist.
“After adjusting for the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday, refinance activity decreased across both conventional and government loans, as borrowers held out for lower rates. Purchase applications were up slightly, but we continue to see mixed results each week as the broader economic outlook remains cloudy, even as cooling home-price growth and increasing for-sale inventory bring some buyers back into the market.”
Purchase gains contrasted with refi slide
Refinance applications fell 4% on the week but were 109% higher than the same period a year earlier, with refis accounting for 53% of all applications, down from 53.4% the prior week.
The purchase index rose 3% after seasonal adjustment, even as unadjusted volumes dropped 32% from the prior week’s pre-holiday pace and stood 17% above a year earlier.
MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers more than half of all US retail residential mortgage applications, giving lenders a close read on shifts in demand across conforming, jumbo, FHA, VA and USDA products.
The mixed picture echoes a pattern that had emerged through 2024 and 2025: modest rate relief brought bursts of demand, but affordability pressures and the so‑called lock-in effect continued to cap activity.
Kan previously said that sluggish applications had been driven by “the affordability crunch caused by high rates, as well as the much-publicized ‘lock-in effect’ resulting from the high rate differential that’s emerged over the past two years.”
Even with the latest decline in rates, the data suggests that many potential borrowers still waited for a clearer economic outlook and deeper price adjustments before committing, leaving lenders preparing for a choppy, rate‑sensitive pipeline rather than a sustained rebound.
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