Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 5% for the week but were 26% higher than the same week one year ago.
What was expected to be a mundane year in the mortgage market was anything but: A sharp downturn in demand for housing at the start of the pandemic took a hairpin turn and just kept rising, and the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage set no less than 15 record lows. Mortgage rates ended just 1 basis point higher than the latest record low. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased to 2.86% from 2.85%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.33 for loans with a 20% down payment. That is a full percentage point lower than it was a year ago.
"Last week's increase in refinance applications was driven by FHA and VA activity, while conventional refinances saw a slight decline," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
Will pick up again after holidays