A powerful hurricane and an approaching three-day weekend may have offset the impact of an improvement in interest rates during the week ended September 1. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, failed to extend its first increase since mid-July into a second week. The Index decreased 2.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and 5.0 percent before adjustment. The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week and was 30 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity dipped to 30.0 percent of total applications from 30.1 percent. [refiappschart] The Purchase Index was down 2.0 percent and 5.0 percent on seasonally adjusted and unadjusted bases compared to the previous week. It was 28 percent lower than the same week one year ago. [purchaseappschart] “Mortgage applications declined to the lowest level since December 1996, despite a drop in mortgage rates. Both purchase and refinance applications fell, with the purchase index hitting a 28-year low, as prospective buyers remain on the sidelines due to low housing inventory and elevated mortgage rates,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “The 30-year fixed mortgage rate decreased to 7.21 percent last week, but rates remained more than a full percentage point higher than a year ago, despite mixed data on the health of the economy and signs of a cooling job market. The refinance index dropped to its lowest level since January 2023, driven by a 6 percent decline in conventional refinances.”
Related Articles
U.S. Commercial Lending to Dive 38 Percent to $504 Billion in 2023
August 4, 2023
Mark Paul Cervantes
Economy, Financial Markets, Mortage News, Top News
Comments Off on U.S. Commercial Lending to Dive 38 Percent to $504 Billion in 2023
Higher Rates, Economic Uncertainty Slow Commercial Lending In The U.S. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, total U.S. commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending is expected to fall to $504 billion this year, which […]
Mortgage applications sink to 1995 levels as rates soar
October 18, 2023
Mariel Alumit
Housing Bubble, Housing Wire, Loan Markets, Mortage News, Top News, U.S. Housing Market
Comments Off on Mortgage applications sink to 1995 levels as rates soar
As the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased for the sixth consecutive week to 7.70%, mortgage applications slumped, hitting their lowest level since 1995. Last Monday, in an attempt to calm the markets, a coalition of […]
Inside the collapse of a top reverse mortgage lender
December 9, 2022
Mariel Alumit
Housing Wire
Comments Off on Inside the collapse of a top reverse mortgage lender
After returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, the roughly 575 staffers at Reverse Mortgage Funding assembled nervously on two separate Microsoft Teams meetings. On the first virtual meeting, 472 employees received the bad news that many […]