U.S. Mortgage Applications Pull Back 1.6% In Week Ended March 15th

(RTTNews) - Mortgage applications in the U.S. saw a notable pullback in the week ended March 15th, according to a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday.

The MBA said the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.6 percent last week after surging by 7.1 percent in the previous week.

The Refinance Index led the way lower, slumping by 2.5 percent during the week, while the Purchase Index slid by 1.2 percent.

"Mortgage rates increased last week as incoming data showed inflation was still hotter than expected, which stoked concerns about the timing and extent to which the Fed might be able to reduce the fed funds rates this year. said Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.

"Mortgage applications continued to show sensitivity to rate movements, and both purchase and refinance activity decreased over the week," he added. "With housing supply low and prices high, the average loan size for purchase applications increased to the highest level since May 2022."

The report also said the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 31.2 percent of total applications from 31.6 percent in the previous week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 7.2 percent of total applications.