You better think twice! Mortgage demand has fallen to its lowest level since 1995.
Mortgage applications decreased 1.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 15, 2023.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week and was 18 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
![](https://confoundedinterestnet.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/mbap122023.png?w=1024)
The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week and was 18 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
![](https://confoundedinterestnet.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/mbarefi122023.png?w=1024)
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 6.83 percent from 7.07 percent, with points increasing to 0.60 from 0.59 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.