As mortgage rates have now decreased for the fourth time in five weeks, with the 30-year fixed rate hitting its lowest level in 10 weeks, demand has continued to pick up. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications were up 5 percent from one week earlier, for the week ending November 24, 2023.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 30.6 percent of total applications from 32.4 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 8.1 percent of total applications.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 7.37 percent from 7.41 percent.
“There was a slight increase in applications overall, driven by a five percent increase in purchase applications, but refinance applications decreased over the week,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Rates have declined more than 50 basis points over the past six weeks, which has helped to spur a small increase in purchase applications, but activity last week was still around 20 percent lower than a year ago. The purchase market remains depressed because of the ongoing, low supply of existing homes on the market. Similarly, refinance activity will likely be muted for some time, even with the recent decline in rates, as many borrowers locked in much lower rates in 2020 and 2021.”