Houses in Daly City, California, USA, on Monday, March 23, 2026.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mortgage rates rose last week to their highest level since last fall, driving up mortgage demand. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index, total mortgage application volume fell 10.5% last week compared to the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less increased from 6.30% to 6.43%, with points for loans with a 20% down payment increasing from 0.63 to 0.65, including the origination fee.
“The threat of longer-term rising oil prices continued to keep Treasury yields high, and mortgage rates finished higher last week. The 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.43 percent, more than 30 basis points higher than at the end of February and at its highest level since October 2025,” said Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist.
Refinancing demand, which was surging just a few months ago, fell 15% this week. It was still 52% higher than the same week a year ago, when the 30-year fixed rate was 28 basis points higher. The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 49.6% of total applications. For comparison: in mid-January it held a share of 60%.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 5% this week and were only 5% higher than the same week a year ago.
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“Higher mortgage rates coupled with affordability constraints and economic uncertainty have sidelined some potential homebuyers,” Kan added.
The share of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) also rose to 8.1% of all applications. ARMs offer lower interest rates but come with more risk because they can adjust after a set period of time.
Mortgage rates have fluctuated so far this week after President Donald Trump and Iran’s leaders made mixed comments about the martial law negotiations. The bond market, which tracks mortgage rates, has reacted quickly to military activity and political rhetoric, but the longer-term damage has already been done.
“Even if the war were to end today, there was enough infrastructure disruption and a large enough initial increase in energy prices to create what economists call ‘second-round effects,'” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “Put simply, this means that inflation expectations and interest rates will not immediately return to February levels just because the war is over.”
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