Mortgage Update As of mid-March 2026

The mortgage market is showing a significant "thaw" compared to the same time last year. While rates have been a bit "jumpy" recently due to global events, the overall trend is one of much higher activity.

It’s a bit of a "tug-of-war" in the housing market this week. On one hand, we’ve seen mortgage rates settle in around 6.1% to 6.3%—which is a huge improvement from the nearly 7% rates we were dealing with this time last year.

Because of that, the market is actually waking up! We’re seeing 11% more people applying for home loans than we did last March, and a massive 81% jump in folks finally able to refinance those high-rate loans they took out a year or two ago.

Now, it’s not all smooth sailing; with everything going on in the news, rates have been a little volatile day-to-day.

But the big takeaway for us "mom and pop" owners is that inventory is slowly growing and buyers are actually out there looking again.

It’s a much friendlier market for a family looking to move than what we saw in the "deep freeze" of last spring.

If you’ve been sitting on the fence, the "wait-and-see" crowd is starting to move, and that usually means some more buyer competition is right around the corner as we head into April.

 

Latest Year-Over-Year (YoY) Stats

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports for the week ending March 6, 2026, here is how the market compares to March 2025:

• Refinance Applications: Up 81% YoY. This is the biggest mover, as many homeowners who took out "emergency" high-rate loans in 2024 and 2025 are now finally seeing enough of a dip to make switching worth it.

• Purchase Applications: Up 11% YoY. This marks the fourth consecutive week of growth, showing that buyers are finally adjusting to the "new normal" of 6% rates.

• Total Application Volume: Up 10% overall. The market is officially busier than it was last spring.

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