The numbers have improved but are far from stable
Mortgage rates have dropped by 24 basis points, finally dipping below the 7% mark. They are now at their lowest since the end of July.
New data from the Mortgage Bankers Association revealed that the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage decreased by 24 basis points to 6.9% last week, while the association’s index of applications to buy a home surged by 4.4%, the most applications recorded since June. This in turn allowed the general measure of mortgage applications – including refinancing – to increase for the first time in two months.
But while numbers have picked up, they are still at some of the lowest levels the US has seen since 2015, Bloomberg reported. The index of refinancing activity has also fallen to another record-low in 22 years.
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While the housing market has always been sensitive to the highs and lows of borrowing costs, this year has tested market limits, with the Federal Reserve implementing a tighter monetary policy to curb record-high inflation. Some policymakers have already begun to push for a slower interest-rate hike following calmer consumer and producer price growths last month. They maintain that inflation is far too high, however.
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The MBA data was gathered using survey responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts and covered over 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.
