Source: Housing Wire —
Mortgage applications increased 2.3% from the previous week, largely due to a strong purchase market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey for the week ending Jan. 14.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index rose 7.9% from the previous week, while the Refinance Index decreased 3.1% in the same period.
Compared to the same week one year ago, mortgage apps overall dropped 37.3%, with a sharp decline in refinance (-49.2%) compared to purchase (-12.2%).
According to Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, the 30-year fixed rate reached 3.64%, more than 30 basis points over the past two weeks. Higher rates led to the “slowest pace of refinance activity in over two years,” mainly among FHA and VA loans, Kan said in a statement.
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