Key facts
- The MBA said the seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 2% week over week and was 19% below a year earlier unadjusted.
- The MBA said the refinance share of applications rose to 39.8% from 38.9% the prior week.
- The MBA said the average 30-year jumbo fixed rate fell to 7.2% from 7.28%.
- The MBA said the 5/1 ARM average rate fell 12 basis points to 6.29%.
- Thomas Lloyd of Xactus said the intent index was about 24% below the same week a year earlier.
Mortgage applications fell 1.2% in the week ended October 30, 2026 from the prior week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its weekly survey. On an unadjusted basis the index fell 2%.
The refinance index rose 0.1% from the previous week and was 60% lower than the same week a year earlier. The seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 2% week over week; unadjusted, it fell 4% and was 19% below the same week a year earlier.
Mike Fratantoni, the MBA's senior vice president and chief economist, said mortgage rates drifted down to their lowest level since September 2026 after the Federal Reserve's October meeting, where it held off on further rate hikes. He said the 30-year rate declined to 7.3% but activity remained slow, with purchase volume down for the week and refinance volume effectively flat at a very low level.
Fratantoni said more borrowers were choosing adjustable-rate mortgages to lower initial payments, with the ARM share at its highest since September 2025. The ARM share rose to 11.4% of total applications and the refinance share to 39.8% from 38.9%.
By product, the FHA share fell to 16% from 16.6%, the VA share rose to 11.2% from 11% and the USDA share rose to 0.6% from 0.5%.
The average contract rate on 30-year conforming fixed loans of $832,750 or less fell to 7.3% from 7.37%, and on jumbo 30-year fixed loans to 7.2% from 7.28%. The FHA-backed 30-year fixed rate fell 10 basis points to 7.02%, the 15-year fixed rate rose 6 basis points to 6.76% and the 5/1 ARM rate fell 12 basis points to 6.29%.
Separately, Xactus said its Mortgage Intent Index, which tracks aggregated, anonymized credit-pull activity on its verification platform, fell to 96.5 from 99.6 a week earlier. Thomas Lloyd, the firm's chief strategy officer, said the index was about 24% below the same week a year earlier and that seasonal factors were likely to weigh on mortgage intent in the coming weeks.