WASHINGTON,— Mortgage applications decreased 3.9% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 30, 2025.
This week’s results included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 15% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4% from the previous week and was 42% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 15% compared with the previous week and was 18% higher than the same week one year ago, MBA said.
“Most mortgage rates moved lower last week, with the 30-year fixed rate declining to 6.92% and staying in the 6.8 to 7% range since April,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Mortgage applications decreased over the week, but continue to exhibit annual gains, with purchase applications running 18% ahead of last year’s place. Government purchase applications were little changed over the week driven by a slight increase in FHA purchase applications. Refinance activity fell across both conventional and government segment and the overall average refinance loan size was the smallest since July 2024, as potential borrowers hold out for larger rate drops.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 35.2% of total applications from 34.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.1% of total applications.
FHA Share
The FHA share of total applications increased to 18.7% from 17.9% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.6% from 12.3% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5% from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.92% from 6.98%, with points decreasing to 0.66 from 0.67 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week, MBA said.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $806,500) decreased to 6.92% from 6.93%, with points decreasing to 0.60 from 0.69 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.68% from 6.66%, with points decreasing to 0.93 from 0.95 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.25% from 6.23%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.67 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 6.14% from 6.22%, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week, MBA noted.