Mortgage rates finally moved lower last week, but that didn’t do much for demand
Homes in Hercules, California, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
After rising for several weeks, mortgage rates moved decidedly lower last week, but not enough to make much of a difference in demand from current borrowers or potential homebuyers. Total mortgage application volume fell 1.4% for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. An additional adjustment was made for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.32% from 6.40%, with points falling to 0.58 from 0.60, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
“Mortgage rates moved lower in line with Treasury yields, which declined on data showing a weaker labor market and declining consumer confidence,” said Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA.
Even with that drop, applications to refinance a home loan fell 4% for the week but were 109% higher than the same week one year ago, when interest rates were much higher.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 3% for the week and were 17% higher than the same week one year ago. Buyer demand has been pretty weak this fall, as still-elevated home prices, relatively high mortgage rates and uncertainty over the state of the economy all weigh on consumers.
“We continue to see mixed results each week as the broader economic outlook remains cloudy, even as cooling home-price growth and increasing for-sale inventory bring some buyers back into the market,” Kan added.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 8% of total applications, as consumers continue to look for more savings. ARMs offer lower rates and can be fixed for up to 10 years. They tend to be more popular in higher rate environments.
Interest rates were mixed to start this week. They rose sharply on Monday but then pulled back a little bit Tuesday, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. There wasn’t much economic data to impact rates.
“That could change on Wednesday with the confluence of ADP and ISM Services–both capable of influencing the bond market, even before the shutdown data dynamics temporarily magnified private data’s importance,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
