Optimal Blue on Wednesday released its November 2025 Market Advantage report, which revealed that mortgage rate-lock activity slowed with typical late-fall seasonality but still posted the strongest November in four years.
Total lock volume fell 25% from October but was up 17% from November 2024, driven by strong refinance activity and mortgage rates hovering near 6%. Rate-and-term refinances surged 223% year over year despite easing from September’s peak, while cash-out refis rose 29%.
Purchase locks dropped 22% from October and 6% year over year as high home prices and low inventory levels continued to curb demand, according to the report.
The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming fixed rate — the benchmark for CME Group’s mortgage rate futures — edged down 1 basis point to 6.14% in November, a 53-pbs improvement from a year earlier.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rates fell to 5.99%, while U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and jumbo rates rose to 5.76% and 6.44%, respectively. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4%, widening the mortgage rate spread by about 10 bps as the OBMMI held steady.
“November’s data underscores a market still responding to rate relief even as seasonal patterns take hold,” said Mike Vough, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Optimal Blue. “Refinances remain the clear standout, with rate-and-term activity running more than triple last year’s levels and cash-outs continuing to outperform. It was a notably strong November by any measure.”
On the secondary market, overall execution strategies also shifted in November, Vough pointed out.
“Lenders moved to the cash window as securitization momentum moderated, and pricing spreads broadened as more loans moved out of the top tier.”
Agency mortgage-backed securities deliveries slipped 100 bps to a market share of 45% after six straight months of gains. The aggregator share fell 300 bps to 27%, while best-efforts executions ticked up to 3%. Pricing softened as well — the top-tier pricing share dropped to 79%, while mortgage servicing rights values for 30-year conforming loans declined 3 bps to 1.09%.
Refinances accounted for 35% of all locks. Nonqualified mortgage (non-QM) products reached a record share of 9%, driven by investor and debt-service-coverage ratio (DSCR) loans. FHA and nonconforming products gained ground, supported by sub-6% FHA rates, while the planned unit development (PUD) lock share rose modestly but remained below last year’s elevated levels.
Borrower and product profiles also shifted. The FHA share climbed to 18.8% of locks, while nonconforming loans rose to 17%. U.S. citizens accounted for nearly 94% of locks. Average credit scores dipped to 733, and the average loan amount fell to $391,323, ranging from $592,129 in the New York City metro area to $295,526 in Indianapolis.
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