Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall, But Purchase Applications Retreat

Mortgage applications fell last week, even as interest rates on home loans declined for the third week in a row, giving buyers some relief.For the week ending Oct. 30 the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index—a measure of total mortgage loan application volume—decreased 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.The Purchase Index, which measures the volume of mortgage applications to purchase a single-family home, decreased 2% from one week earlier after seasonal adjustment. Purchase applications were down 19% from a year ago.According to MBA calculations, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages with conforming loan balances is 7.3%, a slight decrease from last week's rate of 7.37%. Rates averaged 6.17% a year ago. Mortgage rates dropped to 7.24% last week from 7.32% the week before, according to a separate survey from Freddie Mac."Mortgage rates drifted down to their lowest level since September 2026 last week in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold on additional rate hikes at its October meeting,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist. “While the 30-year rate declined to 7.3%, activity is still qui...