Homes in Daly City, California, US, on Monday, March 23, 2026.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mortgage rates rose final week to the highest level since final fall, and that pushed mortgage demand off a cliff. Total mortgage software quantity dropped 10.5% final week from the earlier week, in response to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
The common contract rate of interest for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming mortgage balances, $832,750 or much less, elevated to six.43% from 6.30%, with factors rising to 0.65 from 0.63, together with the origination price, for loans with a 20% down fee.
“The threat of higher for longer oil prices continued to keep Treasury yields elevated, and mortgage rates finished last week higher. The 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.43 percent, more than 30 basis points higher than at the end of February and at its highest level since October 2025,” mentioned Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.
Refinance demand, which had been surging just some months in the past, dropped 15% for the week. It was nonetheless 52% increased than the identical week one yr in the past, when the 30-year fastened fee was 28 foundation factors increased. The refinance share of mortgage exercise decreased to 49.6% of complete purposes. For comparability, in mid-January it held a 60% share.
Applications for a mortgage to buy a house dropped 5% for the week and have been simply 5% increased than the identical week one yr in the past.
“Higher mortgage rates, coupled with affordability constraints and economic uncertainty, pushed some potential homebuyers to the sidelines,” Kan added.
The adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, share of exercise additionally elevated to eight.1% of complete purposes. ARMs supply decrease rates however with increased threat, as they’ll modify after a set interval.
Mortgage rates seesawed thus far this week, after combined messages from President Donald Trump and Iran’s management on the state of battle negotiations. Reactions to navy exercise as properly as political rhetoric have been swift in the bond market, which mortgage rates observe, however the harm for the long term has already been carried out.
“Even if the war were to end today, there’s been sufficient disruption to infrastructure and a big enough initial spike in energy prices to create what economists refer to as ‘second round effects,'” wrote Matthew Graham, chief working officer at Mortgage News Daily. “In simpler terms, this means that inflation expectations and interest rates will not immediately return to February’s levels simply because the war is over.”
