The 30-year fixed-mortgage rate topped 6% for the first time since 2008 in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended Sept. 9. 

Mortgage applications declined 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week, the MBA said, citing its Market Composite Index, while the association’s Refinance Index slid 4% week over week and 83% year over year. 

“Higher mortgage rates have pushed refinance activity down more than 80% from last year and have contributed to more homebuyers staying on the sidelines,” MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan said in a press release. “Government loans, which tend to be favored by first-time buyers, bucked this trend and increased over the week, driven mainly by VA and USDA lending activity.” 

The average contract interest rate for conforming 30-year mortgages of $647,200 or less rose to 6.01% from 5.94%, while the rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration increased to 5.71% from 5.61%.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances of more than $647,200 rose to 5.56% from 5.46%, and the average contract interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 5.30% from 5.23%.  

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 30.2% of total applications from 30.7% the previous week.    

The FHA share of total applications rose to 13.4% from 13.3%, while the VA share of total applications rose to 11.3% from 10.8%. The USDA share of total applications rose to 0.7% from 0.6%.