US Mortgage Applications Fall for 3rd Week

Mortgage applications in the US fell by 2.5% in the last week of May, extending the 8.5% drop in the previous period for to mark a third straight drop in applications, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The decrease took place despite the slight pullback in benchmark mortgage rates, tracking yields on longer maturities as energy costs eased from their peaks in the period. Applications for a loan to refinance an existing mortgage, which are sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, fell by 2.3% to extend the over 18% plunge in the earlier period. Meanwhile, applications for a mortgage to purchase eased by 2.9%.

Mortgage applications in the US sank by 8.3% in the third week of May, extending the 2.3% drop in the previous period for the sharpest decline in nearly two months, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The drop was aligned with a fresh increase in mortgage rates, with the benchmark 30-year rate rising to a nine-month high of 6.65% as pro-inflationary risks from the war in the Middle East drove some long-term Treasury bond yields to peak at their highest since 2007. Applications for a loan to refinance an existing mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, plunged by 18.1% from the previous week. Meanwhile, applications for a mortgage to purchase a home inched lower by 0.4%.

Mortgage applications in the US fell by 2.3% in the second week of May, erasing the 1.7% increase in the previous period to mark the third week of decline in the last four, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The drop was aligned with the surge in long-term Treasury yields due to increasing inflation expectations, lifting the benchmark 30-year mortgage rate by 10bps during the period. Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell by 4%. In turn, applications for a contract to refinance a mortgage were broadly unchanged. Concerns of higher interest rates in the future lifted the share of adjustable-mortgage-rate contracts to nearly 10% of total applications, the highest since October of 2025.