Rough winter weather hits homebuyers, tanking mortgage demand
People dig out their cars parked along Lancaster St. during a winter storm on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026 in Albany, N.Y.
Lori Van Buren | Albany Times Union | Getty Images
The harsh winter storm hitting much of the country over the holiday weekend took its toll on the mortgage market in the week that followed. Potential buyers stayed home, and mortgage rates didn’t move enough to spark refinance demand.
Total mortgage application volume dropped 8.9% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, decreased to 6.21% from 6.24%, with points increasing to 0.56 from 0.55, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
Despite the drop, applications to refinance a home loan fell 5% for the week but were still 117% higher than the same week one year ago, when rates were over 7%. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 57.1% of total applications from 56.2% the previous week.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 14% for the week and were just 4% higher year over year.
“Winter Storm Fern likely had an impact as much of the country was snowed in, hampering homebuying activity,” said Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA. “The annual increase in purchase applications was the weakest since April 2025.”
Mortgage rates moved higher to start this week, on a separate index from Mortgage News Daily. They are now at the highest level in two weeks, but that’s not saying much, as the range is tiny. Rates rose as the result of a stronger-than-expected report on the manufacturing sector.
