Mortgage Demand Sinks to Near-Record Low as 30-Year Rates Cling to 7%

The housing market just took another step toward deep freeze. US purchase mortgage applications dropped 2% last week, landing at 131 points, according to data flagged by @KobeissiLetter on X. That's the second-lowest reading since January 2025 — and the sixth-lowest weekly print since 1995.

Zoom out and the slide looks worse. Applications are down 32% since January, and they now sit 50% below the pre-pandemic pace of 2019. In other words, roughly half the buyers who were shopping for homes six years ago simply aren't showing up.

The culprit is the cost of borrowing. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has climbed 120 basis points since February, now sitting at 7.18% — near its highest level since November 2023. Rates have stayed above 7.0% for seven consecutive weeks.

That combination of sky-high rates and thinning demand is locking the market in place. Sellers with cheap pandemic-era loans have little reason to move, and would-be buyers are balking at the math. The result, as the data makes plain: a US housing market that is frozen.