Mortgage Application Volume Hits Lowest Level Since Before the Pandemic
As the housing market continues to experience low inventory and high demand, mortgage applications fell for the second consecutive week. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) seasonally adjusted index, mortgage applications fell 1.8% last week, which is the lowest level since the beginning of 2020, reports CNBC.
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Falling mortgage rates haven’t driven demand. Refinance applications dropped 2% for the week, down 8% from a year earlier. Refinance applications have dipped below 2020 levels for the past four months, according to MBA data and as reported by CNBC. Home purchase applications fell 1% for the week, down 14% from a year ago.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances of $548,250 or less dropped 5 basis points to 3.15, with points decreasing to 0.38 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment, noted CNBC.
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MBA data also showed that the refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 61.6% of total applications, down from 61.9% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 3.3% of total applications.
“Swift home-price growth across much of the country, driven by insufficient housing supply, is weighing on the purchase market and is pushing average loan amounts higher,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Mortgage Application Volume Hits Lowest Level Since Before the Pandemic
