Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

Mortgage Demand Cools But Remains Resilient

  • October 8th 2025

by UrbanTurf Staff

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

Mortgage rate chart_10-02-25.png

Mortgage demand cooled last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday. 

The MBA’s Market Composite Index, which tracks overall mortgage application volume, slipped 4.7% from the prior week, with an unadjusted drop of about 5%. Refinance activity fell 8% for the week, while the purchase index fell 1%. 

Still, the broader annual trend remains somewhat resilient. On an unadjusted basis, purchase applications are up 14% year-over-year, and refinance volume remains elevated compared to a month ago. The MBA noted shifts in market mix, too: the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share ticked up to 9.5% of total activity (from 8.4% the prior week); 5/1 ARM rates are averaging nearly a full percentage point below 30‑year fixed rates. 

“With mortgage rates on fixed‑rate loans little changed last week, refinance application activity generally declined," Mike Fratantoni said. "Purchase activity declined by about 1 percent for the week but continues to show moderate growth on an annual basis, and stronger growth for FHA loans, favored by first‑time homebuyers.” 

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/mortgage_demand_cools_but_remains_resilient/23945.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse