Mortgage rates finally stop rising, causing demand to trickle back
A for-sale sign sits in front of a home on August 11, 2026 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
After five weeks of gains, mortgage rates fell very slightly last week. That was enough to bring a bit of demand back to the market.
Total mortgage application volume rose 3.6% last week compared with the previous week, 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, $832,750 or less, decreased to 6.77% from 6.81%, with points increasing to 0.67 from 0.65, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
“Mortgage rates declined slightly last week as oil prices dipped briefly on the hopes of a sustained resolution to the war in Iran,” said Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, in a release.
Applications to refinance a home loan rose 5% for the week but were 22% lower than the same week one year ago. Rates were 10 basis points lower one year ago.
“As refinance incentives have dwindled with rates at current levels, the average loan size for refinance applications was down to its lowest level since July 2025,” said Kan.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 3% for the week and were 1% lower year over year. August is typically one of the slowest months for home sales, but this year appears to be even weaker than last year, due to stubbornly high home prices and less certainty in the overall economy. The supply of homes for sale has also not improved meaningfully.
Mortgage rates moved slightly higher to start this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. Rates could move more decidedly, depending on the results of the monthly consumer price index, set for release Wednesday.
“This is one of the most important pieces of monthly economic data as far as rates are concerned,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “There’s no way to know how it will impact rates ahead of time–only that a large deviation from expectations is likely to result in a larger-than-average move higher or lower.”
