The number of refinance applications have hit a seven-month low as mortgage rates continue to inch higher from January’s record of 2.65 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the volume of applications for a refinance loan for the week ending March 5 fell 43 percent compared to the same week last year. The volume of purchase applications remained 2 percent above 2020’s levels.
“The week that we’re comparing to last year in 2020 was also the week right before we really had the widespread shutdowns in the U.S. because of the pandemic,” Joel Kan, the MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting, told Barron’s.
MBA’s recent numbers mark the fourth time in five weeks that refinance activity declined, according to the trade group. “As rates do pick up, that’s really going to hinder refinance activity pretty quickly,” says Kan.