According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell last week from the week before. Rates were down across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says rates are now lower than they’ve been in months. “Mortgage rates fell last week to the lowest levels since February, tracking the dip in Treasury yields,” Kan said. “The decline in rates helped the refinance index reach its highest level in eight weeks … The first week of May was also strong for the purchase market. Applications were up 13 percent from a year ago, which was around the time the housing market awakened from the pandemic-induced stall in activity.” Overall, demand for mortgage applications was up 2.1 percent week-over-week. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)
