Homes in Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA, on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mortgage rates continued to rise last week, making it harder for current homeowners to save on a refinance. Prospective homebuyers also fell slightly, causing total mortgage application volumes to fall 8.5% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less increased from 6.56% to 6.65%, with points for loans with a 20% down payment increasing from 0.60 to 0.65, including the origination fee. The 30-year fixed rate has risen 30 basis points in the past five weeks to its highest level since August 2025.
The hardest hit was refinancing demand, with applications down 18% this week. They were still 19% higher than the same week a year ago. At this time last year, the 30-year fixed rate was 33 basis points higher.
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“There were large declines in applications across all loan types – conventional refinances fell 14 percent, along with an 18 percent decline in FHA applications and a 34 percent decline in VA applications. Overall, refinance applications accounted for 38 percent of applications, the lowest share since June 2025,” said Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist, in a press release.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 0.4% for the week and were just 5% higher than the same week a year ago.
“The average loan size for a purchase application reached another survey high of $473,600 as borrowers with smaller loan sizes were less active given higher interest rates and the negative impact on their purchasing power,” Kan added.
Mortgage rates fell slightly earlier this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. Investors saw a possible de-escalation in the war with Iran, leading to a fall in bond yields and thus a rise in mortgage rates.
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