ENHOUSING DEMAND, MORTGAGE FINANCE & REAL ESTATE · NOVEMBER 4, 2026
Purchase Applications Ease as Rate-Term Refinance Activity Rises
Fannie Mae's application-level data for the week ended October 30 show purchase activity down 1.4% for the week and rate-term refinance activity up 9.4%, while both remained well below year-earlier levels.
What Fannie Mae's weekly data show
Source publication date: November 3, 2026. For the week ended October 30, Fannie Mae's Purchase Application-Level Index based on unpaid principal balance declined 1.4% from the prior week. Total refinance application activity rose 2.5%, including a 9.4% increase in rate-term refinance activity, while cash-out refinance activity was unchanged. The indices measure changes in activity, not raw application counts or funded loans.
- 01Total refinance activity rose 2.5%
- 02Rate-term refinance activity rose 9.4%
- 03Year-over-year activity remained lower
Year-over-year comparisons remained weak
Purchase application activity was 18.9% below the comparable week a year earlier. Total refinance activity was 63.1% lower, including an 84.2% decline in rate-term activity and a 22.2% decline in cash-out activity. A weekly increase can coexist with a much lower annual level, and application movement does not guarantee approvals, closings, home prices, or credit availability.
The data cover Fannie Mae's automated underwriting channel
The Purchase Application-Level Index and Refinance Application-Level Index are based on applications submitted through Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter system. Fannie Mae says a majority of loans in 2018–2024 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data used that system, but the indices do not directly measure commercial mortgages, bridge loans, construction loans, portfolio lending, or every residential channel. Local market and borrower results can differ materially.
Practical borrower takeaway
Update current lender quotes, expected proceeds, rate-lock timing, debt service, cash to close, valuation, reserves, and closing conditions. For rental or development exposure, reconcile local listings, contracts, concessions, absorption, rents, expenses, and exit assumptions. Stress slower buyer demand, higher rates, lower appraisal, delayed refinance, and wider credit spreads, and preserve enough liquidity to avoid relying on one weekly application move.
Housing investors and real-estate borrowers should use the application data as a demand signal, then underwrite specific properties with local sales, rents, concessions, current lender quotes, debt service, liquidity, and downside exit assumptions.
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