The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased to 7.05% from 7.01%Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 1% for the week and were 10% lower than the same week one year ago. That had an immediate impact on what had been several weeks of strengthening mortgage demand.
That was the first increase in four weeks, and while it might not seem like a huge move, that is an average, and rates had fallen back into the high 6% range before shooting higher in the second half of the week. "Both purchase and refinance applications fell, pushing overall activity to the lowest level since early March," wrote Joel Kan, an MBA economist in a release. "Borrowers remain sensitive to small increases in rates, impacting the refinance market and keeping purchase applications below last year's levels.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 1% for the week and were 10% lower than the same week one year ago.