Mortgage applications increased 1.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the week ending July 14, 2023.
On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 27 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 7 percent from the previous week and was 32 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was 21 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates declined last week, as markets responded positively to incoming data showing that U.S. inflation continues to cool. Most rates in our survey declined, with the 30-year fixed rate falling to 6.87 percent,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Refinance applications increased more than 7 percent, but that activity accounted for only 28 percent of applications and was more than 30 percent behind last year’s pace. Despite last week’s lower rates, purchase applications decreased, as home purchase activity is still being held back by low housing supply and rates that are still much higher than a year ago.”
Additionally, the MBA found that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 5 basis points to 0.44 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume as of June 30.
According to MBA’s estimate, 220,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 7.9 million borrowers since March 2020.