Mortgage applications fell last week as rising Treasury yields pushed mortgage rates to their highest level in nearly two months, dampening demand for home purchases, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Total application volume decreased 2.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 15. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 3% compared with the previous week.
The refinance index slipped 0.1% from the previous week but remained 35% higher than the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 4% week over week. On an unadjusted basis, purchase applications declined 5% from the prior week but were still 8% higher than one year ago.
“Ongoing concerns around inflation from higher fuel costs, combined with rising concerns over global public debt, pushed Treasury yields higher in the U.S. and abroad last week. This resulted in higher mortgage rates across the board, with the 30-year fixed rate increasing to 6.56%, its highest level in seven weeks,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Overall applications were down to the lowest level in five weeks as purchase borrowers pulled back across conventional and government loan types. Refinance applications were essentially unchanged, with a decline in government refinances and an increase in conventional refinancing, likely as the increase in rates came late in the week.”
Added Kan, “Almost 10% of applications were for ARM loans, the highest share since October 2025, as borrowers sought loan types with lower rates, given that the ARM rate was 80 basis points below the 30-year fixed rate.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 41.9% of total applications from 40.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 9.6% of total applications.
By loan product, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) share of total applications remained unchanged at 17.9% and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) share of total applications decreased to 14.4% from 14.9% the week prior. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.56% from 6.46%, while 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $832,750) increased to 6.58% from 6.48%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.24% from 6.16%, while rates for 5-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.93% from 5.83%. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.76% from 5.70%,.
Xactus Mortgage Intent Index
Xactus‘s Mortgage Intent Index — which analyzes aggregated, anonymized credit-pull activity across the Xactus Intelligent Verification Platform — dropped to a reading of 132.5 from last week’s reading of 137.4.
“Elevated mortgage interest rates continue to create headwinds for mortgage intent, with the Xactus Mortgage Intent Index declining approximately 3.6% from the prior week and 9.25% from the same week last month,” said Thomas Lloyd, Xactus’ chief strategy officer.
Lloyd said that the reading marks a third consecutive week of year-over-year declines. “As a result, year-to-date mortgage intent is now only approximately 1% higher than the same period in 2025,” he added.
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