Houses in Pacifica, California, USA, on Monday, March 23, 2026.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mortgage rates rose again last week as the war with Iran continues to fuel inflation fears. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index, total mortgage application volume fell again, down 10.4% from 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 6.43% to 6.57%, with points for loans with a 20% down payment remaining unchanged at 0.65, including the origination fee.
Home loan refinance applications, the most sensitive to weekly interest rate movements, fell 17% this week and were 33% higher than the same week a year ago. At the beginning of the year, when interest rates were lower, refinancing demand was more than double the year before.
“The 30-year mortgage rate, now at 6.57%, has reached its highest level since last August and is half a percentage point higher than it was a month ago,” Mike Fratantoni, MBA chief economist, said in a news release. “The volume of refinance applications fell sharply again last week, down more than 40% compared to the previous month.”
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Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 3% for the week and were just 1% higher than the same week a year ago. The spring housing market, traditionally the busiest of the year, is in full swing. Although it was expected to be stronger than last year, the war is weighing on affordability and raising fears about the overall economy.
“Purchase applications for FHA and VA loans continue to hold up better than those for traditional buyers. However, the shocks of interest rate increases and increasing macroeconomic uncertainty will likely impact buyer confidence,” Fratantoni said.
Mortgage rates fell quite sharply earlier this week as markets digested a possible de-escalation in the Iran war, according to a separate measure from Mortgage News Daily. However, they are still increased compared to the pre-war period.
“These are the best two days of improvement since the start of the war, but the caveat is that the bigger moves often come after interest rates have reached longer-term highs,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
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