The number of weekly mortgage applications keeps on climbing, up for the fifth week in a row as it jumped 5.4% for the week ending Dec. 6 when compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The MBA’s Market Composite Index (MCI), which measures weekly loan application volume, adjusted for the Thanksgiving Holiday to gauge the final numbers. But on an unadjusted level, the index was up 50% compared to the previous week. Falling mortgage rates helped push the MBA’s refinance index up 27% from the previous week, and a hefty 42% compared to the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 4% from a week earlier, but the unadjusted purchase index increased 30% from the previous week and was 4% higher than the same week in 2023.

The interest rate on the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased slightly during the week to 6.67%, from the previous week’s 6.69%. The average rate for Jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (greater than $766,550) also decreased to 6.79%, down from 6.85%.  

Refinancing continued to show its muscle, accounting for 46.8% of total applications, up from 38.7% during the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of applications decreased to 5.3% of the total.

The share of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) applications increased slightly to 16.5% from 16% during the previous week. The share of Veterans Administration (VA) loans increased to 16.3% from 13.6% the week prior. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) share of loan applications was unchanged at 0.4%.

“Mortgage rates decreased again for the third consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed rate dipping to 6.67%,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Applications increased 5%, driven by a 27% surge in refinance activity, as borrowers with higher rates acted on the chance to lower their payments. VA refinance applications were up 85% from the previous week, matching some of the larger swings in VA activity reported in recent months.”