Talking Points
- Total mortgage application volume rose just 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
- Total mortgage application activity for home buying and refinancing continued to edge down last week, dropping 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Mortgage volume is now 22 percent lower compared to the same week a year ago.
- Mortgage rates are hovering around their lowest levels in five weeks, which means home shoppers may not be feeling the same pressure to lock in before an increase.
- However, the lower volume is mostly due to a decrease in refinancing as applications to refinance a home dropped 4 percent for the week. Refi activity is now 41 percent lower than the same week a year ago, when interest rates were also much lower.
- Still, applications to purchase a home dropped 2 percent last week in the second consecutive week of declines. Home purchase applications are now at the lowest levels since March. But applications are 9 percent higher than the same week a year ago.
- The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged at 4.17 percent last week, the MBA reports.