US Mortgage Applications Fall to 20-Month Low

2026-10-07 11:13 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

The volume of mortgage applications in the US fell by 4.2% in the week ending October 2, marking the fifth consecutive decline and reaching its lowest level since January 2025, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The drop tracked a sharp increase in mortgage rates over the period, as the benchmark 30-year fixed rate averaged a near-three-year high of 7.49%.

Yields on long-term securities continued to surge at the turn of the month despite Treasury efforts to tame the long end by increasing bill issuance and expanding buybacks of nominal notes and bonds.

Applications to refinance a loan, which are sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, fell by 7.5% from the previous week, while purchase applications declined by 2.1%.



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