WASHINGTON–Mortgage rates last week jumped to the highest level since the end of 2025, slamming the brakes on what had been growing refinance demand. Overall, total mortgage application volume was down 10.9% compared with 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, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.30% from 6.19%, with points rising to 0.63 from 0.58, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment, the MBA said.
“Mortgage rates continued to move higher, driven by increasing Treasury yields as the conflict in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated, along with the risk of a broader inflationary shock. Mortgage rates increased across the board,” MBA Economist Joel Kan said in a statement.
Applications to refinance a home loan plunged 19% week to week, but were still 69% higher than the same week one year ago, the MBA data also show.
A ‘Reversal’
“Rates were around 20 basis points higher than they were two weeks ago, and this caused a reversal in refinance activity, particularly for conventional refinance applications, which decreased 27 percent over the week. Government refinances also declined but by 5 percent, as FHA rates have not increased quite as rapidly,” Kan added in the statement.
