Mortgage application activity has increased in each of the three weeks of the New Year, even though two of those weeks were impacted by federal holidays. There was a strong purchase loan component each week as well. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended January 19, including an adjustment to account for the Martin Luther King observance. On an unadjusted basis, the Index was down 4.0 percent from the previous week’s level. The Refinance Index’s holiday-adjusted version fell 7.0 percent week-over-week and was 8.0 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The unadjusted Index declined 16.0 percent for the week and 8.0 percent year-over-year. The share of refinance applications dropped to 32.7 percent from 37.5 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 8.0 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3.0 percent, remaining 18.0 percent below its level during the same week in 2023.   [purchaseappschart] “Mortgage rates increased slightly last week but, there continues to be an upward trend in purchase activity. Conventional and FHA purchase applications drove most of the increase last week as some buyers moved to act early this season,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Refinance applications declined over the week and remained at low levels. There is still little incentive for homeowners to refinance with rates at these levels.”