Mortgage applications fall again as 30-year rate hits 7.5%
Average 5/1 ARM rates rose to 6.54% from 6.43% the prior week, roughly a full percentage point below the 30-year fixed rate, giving cost-sensitive buyers meaningful monthly payment relief.
Optimal Blue’s September 2026 Market Advantage Report found that non-QM lock volume also rose even as total lock activity fell.
Brennan O’Connell, director of data solutions at Optimal Blue in the United States, told Mortgage Professional America that “people are, originators and borrowers, getting creative and figuring out different paths towards financing in an otherwise difficult environment.”
No relief expected through 2027
At the MBA’s annual conference Sunday, Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni in Washington, D.C., warned the rate environment reflects structural forces unlikely to resolve quickly.
“Inflation is too high, leading central banks to raise short-term rates, while budget deficits and debt are unsustainably high, leading bond investors to push up longer-term rates,” he said.
