Mortgage Rates, Purchase Demand Both Fall

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages fell again last week. It was the fifth consecutive week that mortgage rates have fallen. But despite declining rates, total mortgage loan application volume decreased, dropping 2 percent from the previous week due to a 5 percent dip in the Purchase Index. The Purchase Index, which measures loan requests to buy homes and is a leading indicator of home sales, is now 13 percent below the same week one year ago. Refinance activity, on the other hand, was little changed from the week before. The Refinance Index fell 0.2 percent and the refinance share of total mortgage activity remained unchanged at 62 percent. The MBA’s weekly survey covers more than 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. More here.

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