A 'For Sale' sign is posted beside perty for sale in Alhambra, California, on August 28, 2025. Frederic J.
Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesMortgage rates fell again last week, but not enough to pull overall demand out of the rut it's been in for the past month.
Total mortgage application volume dropped 1.2% last week 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, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.64% from 6.69%, with points falling to 0.59 from 0.60, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
That was the lowest rate since April.Applications to refinance a loan, which are most sensitive to weekly rate changes, increased 1% for the week and were 20% higher than the same week one year ago.
This despite the fact that at this time last year, mortgage rates were 21 basis points lower.Get perty Play directly to your inboxCNBC's perty Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, dered weekly to your inbox.
here to get access today.Applications for a mortgage to purchase a dropped 3% for the week and were 17% higher than the same week one year ago.
Potential buyers today have a lot more to choose from than they did at this time last year, but prices are also higher than they were, at least on a national level.
Affordability is the main barrier standing in the way of stronger sales."Refinance applications saw a small increase from the previous week, driven by FHA and VA refinance applications, but conventional refinances declined.
The FHA rate is averaging 30 basis points lower than the conventional rate in 2025, which has made those loans relatively more appealing to eligible borrowers," said Joel Kan, deputy chief economist at the MBA, in a release.
"Purchase activity pulled back, after a four-week run of increases, as slower buying activity led to declines in applications across the various loan types."Mortgage rates started this week very slightly higher, ing a sell-off in the European bond market.
There are, however, several significant economic reports coming this week, including the all-important monthly employment report Friday, that could move mortgage rates more significantly in either direction.Don’t miss these insights from CNBC What Nvidia's earnings mean for the stock market and AI tradeJosh Brown says if Apple announced a deal with Perplexity AI, the s would hit a recordChallenging Buffett: Buying wonderful companies at fair prices isn't more fitableBest Stocks: The value name with one of the best long-term charts Josh Brown has ever seen