the numbers mortgage applications fell 05 this week as rates remain firmly above 7 rates rose for the sixth week in a row and home buyers continued to pull back on purchasing homes high rates weighed down the market composite index a measure of mortgage application volume the mortgage bankers association mba said on wednesday the market index dropped 05 to 2001 in the week ending october 28 a year ago the index stood at 6238 applications continue to trend at the lowest level since the group started tracking the data in 2000 key details the refinance index rose 02 but was down 85 compared to a year ago the purchase index which measures mortgage applications for the purchase of a home fell by 08 from the previous week the purchase index has dropped to the slowest pace since december 2014 the adjustablerate mortgage share of activity dropped to 118 applications the average contract rate for the 30year mortgage for homes sold for 647200 or less was 706 for the week ending october 28 that’s down from 716 the week before the mba said while the 30year dropped for the first time in over two months it’s still at a 20year high the mba noted for homes sold for over 647200 the average rate for the 30year was 655 the rate for adjustablerate mortgages rose to 579 the big picture the data continues to tell us that the housing sector is in turmoil high mortgage rates “continue to put pressure on both purchase and refinance activity” and add to the “ongoing affordability challenges impacting the broader housing market” as evidenced by falling housing stars and home sales joel kan vice president and deputy chief economist at the mba said but there’s a silver lining homes are staying on the market longer so buyers have more choices as compared to the pandemic days where they had to contend with bidding wars nearly half of forsale listings have been on the market for more than 60 days according to zillow how that affects home buyers with a 2000 average monthly payment budget you would’ve been able to afford roughly a 467800 home a year ago with the 30year at 324 and with 20 down now with rates at 706 a buyer would be able to only afford a home roughly worth 321600 market reaction the yield on the 10year treasury note tmubmusd10y rose above 4 in early morning trading got thoughts on the housing market write to marketwatch reporter aarthi swaminathan at aarthimarketwatchcom