Refinance demand cooled even as purchase applications outpaced last year
US mortgage demand edged lower last week as rising rates cooled refinancing, even while home purchase activity stayed ahead of last year’s pace, new Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) data showed.
The MBA’s Market Composite Index, which tracked total mortgage applications for the week ending April 24, 2026, fell 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior week.
Refinancing drove the decline, with the Refinance Index down 4% week over week, even as it remained 51% higher than the same week a year earlier.
Purchase applications rose 1% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 2% unadjusted, leaving purchase demand 21% above year-ago levels.
“Mortgage rates increased slightly last week, with the 30-year fixed rate rising to 6.37 percent. The increase in rates led to a 4 percent decline in refinance application volume. However, purchase activity for conventional loans picked up almost 2 percent for the week,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA senior vice president and chief economist.
“More notably, purchase application activity was more than 20 percent above last year’s pace. After a brief pause, in part because of the elevated geopolitical uncertainties, potential homebuyers certainly appear to be moving forward this spring and taking advantage of the more favorable inventory conditions in most parts of the country,” he said.
Refis cool, purchase loans carry the market
The latest figures extended a bumpy spring pattern. Earlier in April, MBA data showed a sharper 10.4% weekly drop in applications as the 30‑year rate touched 6.57%, its highest level since last August, before easing slightly in recent weeks.
Refinances accounted for 42.5% of total applications, down from 44.2% the prior week, while adjustable‑rate mortgages made up 8.3% of activity.
FHA loans captured 17.2% of volume, with VA at 15.0% and USDA steady at 0.5%.
Conforming 30‑year fixed‑rate loans rose to 6.37%, jumbos to 6.45%, while FHA 30‑year rates edged down to 6.09%.
Fannie Mae posts steady earnings as guaranty business holds
In a separate development, Fannie Mae reported $3.7 billion in net income for the first quarter of 2026, its 33rd straight quarterly profit, with net worth rising to $112.7 billion.
“Fannie Mae is a far more effective and leaner company than it was a year ago... A financially sound and dependable Fannie Mae is essential to the long-term health of the housing and mortgage markets,” said William J. Pulte, chair of Fannie Mae’s board.
“Fannie Mae’s first quarter net income of $3.7 billion reflects the health of our guaranty business, the discipline of our execution, and the strength of our balance sheet. We remain focused on our mission – to provide uninterrupted liquidity in all economic cycles to support stability and affordability to the U.S. housing market,” said acting CEO and COO Peter Akwaboah.
Fannie Mae said it provided $116 billion in liquidity to the mortgage market in the quarter, supporting approximately 154,000 home purchases, 121,000 refinances and 110,000 rental units.
More than 80% of multifamily units financed were affordable to renters earning less than 100% of area median income, while first‑time buyers accounted for more than half of single‑family purchase mortgages.
The company said its foreclosure‑prevention efforts helped more than 24,000 homeowners remain in their homes and that it continued to support the secondary market through mortgage‑backed securities purchases.
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