Housing market conditions fluctuate. Home prices, mortgage rates, and inventory all rise and fall. For most home buyers, however, market conditions aren’t what motivates them to make a move. More often than not, buyers are shopping for a house because they’ve started a family, changed a job, retired, or just need more space. In other words, buyer demand sometimes doesn’t coincide with market fluctuations. Take the most recent Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The survey which tracks mortgage rates and demand for loans has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. According to the most recent release, mortgage rates rose last week. But, despite the increase, home buying demand was also up, climbing 6 percent from the week before and 15 percent over last year at the same time. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says market and economic volatility have yet to slow buyer demand. “The purchase index increased for the third straight week to its highest reading since July,” Kan said. “This is likely a sign that the underlying demand for buying a home remains strong, despite some of the recent volatility we have seen.”
