It appears that the almost 28% jump last week was not a fluke because mortgage demand was up again for the third straight week with total demand up 7.0%, according to the weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
- The Purchase Index was up 3.0% from one week earlier and is now down 39% when compared to the same week one year ago.
- The Refinance Index jumped 15% from the previous week and is now 77% lower than the same week one year ago.
Breaking It Down. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased slightly to 31.9% of total applications while adjustable-rate mortgage activity decreased to 6.5% of total applications.
Rates. Mortgages fell for the third straight week with the average 30-year fixed falling to 6.20%, this is down 3 basis points from last week and is now down 38 basis points from the end of 2022.
- The 15-year fixed average fell to 5.54% and the 5/1 ARM fell to 5.31%.
Analysis. Joel Kan, MBA’s Deputy Chief Economist, said homebuying remains depressed things are looking up heading into the spring season. “Overall applications increased with both gains in purchase and refinance activity, but purchase applications remained almost 39 percent lower than a year ago. Homebuying activity remains tepid, but if rates continue to fall and home prices cool further, we expect to see potential buyers come back into the market. Many have been waiting for affordability challenges to subside.”