US mortgage applications for home purchases climbed last week to the highest since January 2023, suggesting a further easing in financing costs is contributing to a thaw in the housing market.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of home-purchase applications rose 5.1% in the week ended Jan. 16, data from the group showed Wednesday. The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage slipped 2 basis points to 6.16%, still the lowest since September 2024.
Cheaper home financing costs also helped drive up MBA's refinancing index more than 20% following a 40.1% surge in the prior week. The overall measure of mortgage activity advanced for a third week.
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The two-week stretch of improving mortgage activity suggests some nascent momentum for a housing market still contending with lackluster affordability. But it's not clear whether the slide in mortgage rates will be sustained.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which offers a guide to the direction of home-financing costs, has climbed to the highest level in months amid a rout in Japanese bonds. Geopolitics are also a concern as President Donald Trump and his European counterparts tangle over control of Greenland, posing a risk to global demand for US government debt.
Other data, meanwhile, have indicated demand for US homes is firming. Last week, National Association of Realtors figures showed contract closings on previously owned homes rose more than 5% at the end of 2025.
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The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.
