Interest in new and refinanced home loans hasn’t been this low in 22 years, thanks to higher mortgage rates, a report showed Wednesday.
Here’s a quick look at the most significant economic indicators of the day and what they tell us.
Mortgage Applications
- Interest in new and refinanced home loans hasn’t been this low in decades, thanks to higher mortgage rates. A weekly index measuring the volume of mortgage applications for home purchases and refinancing dropped for the fourth week in a row last week, falling 6.5% and reaching its lowest point in 22 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The volume of applications for purchases fell 7% while the volume of refinance applications dropped 6%.
- The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 5.53% last month, its highest since 2009, according to MBA’s measure. While it has dipped a little since then (5.4% last week), it’s still a full 2 percentage points higher than it was at the start of the year.
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