Mortgage applications held steady at week-before levels over the seven days ending June 26, which included an adjustment for the Juneteenth holiday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday.

The MBA’s Mortgage Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, scooched up 0.04% in response to a slight decrease in mortgage rates, said deputy chief economist of the trade group, Joel Kan, commenting on the weekly figures in a press release accompanying the report.

“As a result, mortgage applications increased modestly, with an uptick in purchase activity offsetting a smaller decline in refinances,” said Kan.

The refinance component index fell 1% over the week as the seasonally adjusted purchase component index rose 1%. Refinance volumes were 9% higher than a year ago while unadjusted purchase totals showed 3% annual growth.

After spending much of June at around 6.6%, contract mortgage rates that borrowers locked on typical 30-year home loans last week eased to 6.57% from 6.59% the previous week. The represents seven consecutive weeks — since the second week of May — that contract rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have been over 6.5%, according to MBA data.

Thirty-year rates hovered at 6.09 % during the last two weeks of February, just before the Iran war began, which triggered a global energy and trade shock, resurgent inflation and a jump in yields on U.S. Treasury bonds to which mortgage rates are benchmarked.

The MBA expects mortgage rates will stay elevated around 6.5% through the end of 2026 and through 2027, due to inflation pressures, concerns about the U.S. federal deficit and heightened geopolitical volatility.

The refinance share of overall activity remained near recently elevated levels at 41.4%, compared to 41.5% the previous week. Adjustable-rate mortgage share slid to 7.6% — its lowest share since January — as the short end of the Treasury yield curve moved higher relative to recent weeks, said Kan.

And despite the 2026 spring homebuying season failing to materialize in the manner most across the housing and housing finance industries had forecast, purchase demand has consistently chugged along above year-ago levels.

“Purchase applications remain ahead of 2025’s pace and have exhibited year-over-year growth for almost three months,” added Kan, noting that markets with ample inventory and easing home-price growth are presenting opportunities for homebuyers in an historically expensive home purchase market.

The share of applications for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) declined a full percentage point to 16.9% last week, while the share of loan applications for mortgage backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs rose to 12.9% from 12.3%.