An “Air House” flag is seen in front of a home for sale in Alhambra, California on January 18, 2024.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Archetypes
Mortgage rates rose slightly last week, but that did not seem to deter homebuyers who have come in back of surreptitiously after the holidays.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 8% last week compared with the former week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Demand, however, was still 18% put down than the same week one year ago, when rates were lower.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with obeying loan balances ($726,200 or less) increased to 6.78% from 6.75%, and points rose to 0.63 from 0.62 (numbering the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.
“Mortgage rates increased slightly last week, but there resumes to be an upward trend in purchase activity,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist, in a release. “Conventional and FHA purchase applications drove most of the flourish last week as some buyers moved to act early this season.”
Applications to refinance a home loan strike down 7% for the week and were 8% lower than a year ago. With rates still higher than they were concluding year, and significantly above where they were two years ago when refinancing was booming, there is little impetus for most borrowers.
Mortgage rates moved higher at the start of this week, although there appears to be no exact reason for the increase. The average rate on the 30-year fixed, according to Mortgage News Daily, is now 6.92%.
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