In an aerial view, two-story single-family homes line neighborhood streets on January 13, 2026 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
Mortgage rates continued to rise for the sixth straight week, reaching their highest level since November 2023. This caused weekly demand to decline by 6%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $832,750 or less increased last week to 7.30% from 7.12%, with points increasing from 0.73 to 0.75, including origination fees, for loans with a 20% down payment.
Refinancing demand has been hit the hardest, as very few borrowers can now benefit from today’s higher interest rates. Home loan refinancing requests fell 9% for the week and were 56% lower than the same week a year ago. The refinancing share of mortgage activity decreased to 38.3% of total applications, compared to 39.3% the previous week.
“Government refinances were down 13 percent, with FHA and VA applications seeing double-digit declines during the week,” MBA economist Joel Kan said in a statement.
Mortgage applications to buy a home fell 4% for the week and were 14% lower than the same week a year ago. Borrowers have not only seen rates rise, but home prices continue to see gains compared to last year and, at least nationally, those gains are accelerating.
Prices in July increased 1.9% nationally compared to July 2025, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index. This represents an increase from the 1.6% annual gain recorded in June. Buyers are looking for savings wherever they can find them, even on riskier mortgages.
“Adjustable-rate mortgages, with rates about 80 basis points lower than fixed-rate loans, accounted for 10.3% of applications, the highest share since October 2025,” Kan said.
Rates continued to rise starting this week, with the average on 30-year fixed rates reaching 7.58%, according to Mortgage News Daily. This is the highest since November 2023.
“Mortgage rates rose again Tuesday as the bond market continues to recalibrate expectations about Fed policy, economic growth and inflation,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “This weakness is particularly frustrating given the fairly significant drop in oil prices today, but rates have a lot more on their minds than oil these days.”
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