Mortgage applications jumped 6.2% in the week ending Nov. 6, and the rate relief that powered the gain vanished in a single session on Tuesday.
Purchase applications climbed 8% and refinance applications rose 5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.
Borrowers were responding to cheaper money. The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed loan slipped to 7.21% from 7.30%, the fourth straight weekly decline and the lowest since mid-September.
Adjustable-rate loans fell to 10.9% of applications from 11.4%, and FHA loans slipped to 15.5% from 16%.
Mortgage Demand Rebounds With a 6.2% Weekly Gain
MBA Market Composite Index, weekly % change, seasonally adjusted, releases Oct 7 to Nov 11, 2026
Bar chart. Weekly Change (%). Oct 7: Weekly Change (%) -4.20%. Oct 14: Weekly Change (%) -2.70%. Oct 21: Weekly Change (%) -5.30%. Oct 28: Weekly Change (%) 3.40%. Nov 4: Weekly Change (%) -1.20%. Nov 11: Weekly Change (%) 6.20%.
Source: Helious, Mortgage Bankers Association
The easing streak ended on Tuesday
October's consumer price index came in hotter than expected on Nov. 10. Headline prices rose 0.4% against the 0.3% economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast, and core inflation rose 0.3% versus 0.2% expected.
Bonds sold off immediately. The 10-year Treasury yield traded above 5% before paring gains and was last up 13 basis points at 4.992%. The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose more than 9 basis points to 5.352%, and a mediocre $42B auction of Treasury notes added pressure.
Mortgages track that benchmark with a risk premium on top. The average top-tier 30-year fixed rate rose 0.12% day over day to 7.30%, the largest one-day increase in more than a month, though still below the 7.6% levels of early October.
Next week's survey is the one that matters
Refinance applications were still 57% below the same week a year earlier and purchase applications were down 18%, so the bounce came off a low base. Refinance loans held a 39.8% share of applications, unchanged from the prior week.
The prior week's 1.2% decline came even as rates were still easing.
The purchase index tends to lead home sales by one to two months, and the next read lands Nov. 18. Its survey week includes the Tuesday when rates turned.
What it means for lenders and buyers
Lenders and title insurers earn fee income that scales with closed loan volume, so one strong week of applications does little when the rate behind it disappears within days. The volume that matters to revenue is the loan that closes, not the application that arrives.
The purchase index is a leading indicator, not the last word. Pending home sales have their own recent chapter in this story.
Markets have largely priced in a quarter-point Federal Reserve hike in December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, and Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he would support more robust action if inflation readings come in higher than expected.
For buyers, the one bright spot was the FHA rate, which dropped back below 7% and ran more than 20 basis points below the conforming rate, MBA deputy chief economist Joel Kan said.
The 6.2% gain belongs to a week when the 30-year rate was still falling. The next survey will show what a 7.30% mortgage does to demand.
