Mortgage rates fall for sixth week, applications up 31% over 2024

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the average 30-year mortgage rate declined for the sixth straight week to the lowest level since early December. It stood at 6.67%.

In that regard, the association explained that as a result, mortgage applications increased during the week and were up 31% year-over-year.

"Mortgage applications increased 11.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 7, 2025," the association explained in its report.

Similarly, the report indicated that the mortgage refinance rate increased to 45.6% of total applications, up from 43.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) interest rate increased to 7.2% of total applications.

It added that the average contract rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 6.12% to 6.04%, and points increased from 0.64 to 0.68 (including origination fee) for loans with an LTV (Loan-to-Value) of 80%. The effective interest rate decreased from last week.