Some activity slows while homebuyers stay cautiously active
Mortgage application activity pulled back last week as ongoing economic ambiguity continued to rattle both borrowers and markets, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
Total mortgage loan application volume dropped 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending March 28. On an unadjusted basis, volume declined 1% compared to the previous week.
“Treasury yields continue to be volatile as economic uncertainty dominates markets,” said MBA deputy chief economist Joel Kan. “Most mortgage rates finished last week lower, with the 30-year fixed essentially unchanged at 6.70%.”
While mortgage rates have hovered in a tight range, refinancing continues to lag. Refinance applications fell 6% week over week, although it still sits 57% higher than the same time last year. In dollar volume, refinance application volume fell 4.5%, according to Fannie Mae.
The refinance share of total mortgage activity also declined, falling to 38.6% of all applications, down from 40.4% the week prior.
Meanwhile, purchase activity held up slightly better. MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase applications index rose 2% from the previous week, with the unadjusted index also increasing 2%, and now standing 9% higher than a year ago.
“Last week’s level of purchase applications was its highest since the end of January, driven by a 3% increase in conventional purchases, while government purchase applications were down 2%,” Kan explained.
He added that overall purchase activity has shown year-over-year growth for more than two months, supported by a gradual increase in the number of existing homes for sale.
The current market backdrop is being shaped not only by rates, but by broader economic uncertainty, including policy changes and trade developments that continue to inject unpredictability into housing decisions.
“I think we need a period of less volatility,” said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage. “You never know what you’re going to wake up to, and how those changes are going to impact us.”
Cohn noted that stubbornly high mortgage rates, still well above pandemic-era lows, and new tariff announcements coming out of Washington are adding to the strain.
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“That volatility is creating a bit of havoc in real estate,” she said. “Hopefully, once the administration finalizes its tariffs and other plans, we’ll have a sense of where we’re headed and how to work around it.
“The harder you make it for the American people to become homeowners, the tougher it’ll be on the real estate market,” she added.
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