Modest Increase in Mortgage Activity to Start 2024

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending January 5th, total mortgage activity increased 9.9% from the previous week, and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose five basis points to 6.81%. After the total mortgage activity index fell 10.7% in the last week of December, it bounced back in the first week of the year. The data includes an adjustment for New Year’s.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 9.9% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity increased 5.6% and refinancing activity increased 18.8% week-over-week.

Purchasing activity was 6.8% lower than one year ago, and refinancing activity was up 30.2% from the same week one year ago. Despite the 30-year FRM rate increasing over the week, both refinancing and purchasing activity saw small increases as rates start to settle around seven percent, which is significantly lower than the 2023 peak rate of 7.9% in October.

The refinance share of mortgage activity rose from 36.3% to 38.3% over the week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity fell from 6.0% to 5.4%. The average loan size for purchases was $402,900 at the start of January, down from $408,600 over the month of December. The average loan size for refinancing increased from $272,200 in December to $274,100 in January. The average loan size for an ARM was down at the start of January to $862,600 while the average loan size for a FRM rose to $324,400.

Tags: finance, interest rates, mba, mortgage applications, mortgage bankers association, mortgage lending, refinancing