Mortgage Apps are on the Rise as Rates Drift Lower

Mortgage loan activity posted a third straight gain during the week ended January 20 . The Mortgage Brokers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 7.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and rose 1 percent on an unadjusted basis. The week’s results included an adjustment to account for the observance of Martin Luther King Day. The Refinance Index moved 15 percent higher but was 77 percent below activity during the same week one year ago. That share of the week’s applications increased to 31.9 percent from 31.2 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index gained 3 percent and was 1 percent higher on an unadjusted basis. Activity was 39 percent lower than the same week one year ago. [purchaseappschart] “Mortgage rates declined for the third straight week, which is good news for potential homebuyers looking ahead to the spring homebuying season. Mortgage rates on most loan types decreased last week and the 30-year fixed rate reached its lowest level since September 2022 at 6.2 percent,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “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.”
http://dlvr.it/ShQR8K

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#ForBuyers #ForSellers #Pricing #HousingMarketUpdates Home Prices Still Growing – Just at a More Normal Pace: If you’re feeling a bit muddy on what’s happening with home prices, that’s no surprise. http://dlvr.it/Sz993K

Will a Silver Tsunami Change the 2024 Housing Market? Have you ever heard the term “Silver Tsunami” and wondered what it's all about? If so, that might be because there’s been lot of talk about it online recently. Let's dive into what it is and why it won't drastically impact the housing market. What Does Silver Tsunami Mean? A recent article from HousingWire calls it: “. . . a colloquialism referring to aging Americans changing their housing arrangements to accommodate aging . . .” The thought is that as baby boomers grow older, a significant number will start downsizing their homes. Considering how large that generation is, if these moves happened in a big wave, it would affect the housing market by causing a significant uptick in the number of larger homes for sale. That influx of homes coming onto the market would impact the balance of supply and demand and more. The concept makes sense in theory, but will it happen? And if so, when? Why It Won’t Have a Huge Impact on the Housing Market in 2024 Experts say, so far, a silver tsunami hasn’t happened – and it probably won't anytime soon. According to that same article from HousingWire: “. . . the silver tsunami’s transformative potential for the U.S. housing market has not yet materialized in any meaningful way, and few expect it to anytime soon.” Clearly, not every baby boomer is planning to sell or move – and even those who do won’t do it all at once. Instead, it will be more gradual, happening slowly over time. If you’re worried about a Silver Tsunami shaking up the housing market, don’t be. Any impact from baby boomers moving will be gradual over many years. Fleming sums it up best: “Demographic trends, they don't tsunami. They trickle.” #realestate #homeownership #homebuying www.DanFreshley.com