WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2026) — Mortgage applications decreased 10.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 13, 2026.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 19 percent from the previous week and was 69 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 12 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage
rates continued to move higher, driven by increasing Treasury yields as the conflict in the Middle East kept oil prices elevated, along with the risk of a broader inflationary shock. Mortgage rates increased across the board, with the 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.30 percent, the highest rate since December 2025,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Rates were around 20 basis points higher than they were two weeks ago and this caused a reversal in refinance activity, particularly for conventional refinance applications, which decreased 27 percent over the week. Government refinances also declined but by 5 percent, as FHA rates have not increased quite as rapidly. Purchase applications remained steady despite the higher rates, with conventional purchase applications unchanged and growth in both FHA and VA segments. Overall purchase applications
remained ahead of last year’s pace, supported by higher inventory and slowing home-price growth in many markets.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 52.3 percent of total applications from 57.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 8.0 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 19.4 percent from 17.1 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 16.7 percent from 16.1 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4 percent from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.30 percent from 6.19 percent, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.58 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $832,750) increased to 6.39 percent from 6.26 percent, with points increasing to 0.34 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.08 percent from 6.02 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.70 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.66 percent from 5.54 percent, with points increasing to 0.73 from 0.68 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.65 percent from 5.26 percent, with points increasing to 0.67 from 0.64 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The survey covers U.S. closed-end residential mortgage applications originated through retail and consumer direct channels. The survey has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
