U.S. mortgage rates fall to a five-month low but demand remains ‘tepid’

by | Dec 20, 2023 | Stock Market

The numbers: U.S. mortgage applications dipped, despite rates falling to the lowest level in five months. The 30-year rate dropped 24 basis points in the last week to the lowest level since June 2023. Even though rates moved lower, that failed to boost home-buying and refinancing demand. The overall market composite index — a measure of mortgage application volume — decreased in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday. 

The market index fell 1.5% to 191.6 for the week ending December 15 from a week earlier. A year ago, the index stood at 212.5. Key details: Home-buying and refinancing activity fell, despite rates falling across the board. Buyer demand decreased as buyers considered waiting for rates to fall further before buying a home. The purchase index — which measures mortgage applications for the purchase of a home — fell 0.6% from last week.  Refinancing activity also dropped, also potentially as homeowners hold off. The refinance index fell by 1.8%, with the exception of Veterans Affairs refinance applications surging by 18% in the latest week, the MBA said. The average contract rate for the 30-year mortgage for homes sold for $726,200 or less was 6.83% for the week ending December 15. That’s down from 7.07% from the week before.  Th …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe numbers: U.S. mortgage applications dipped, despite rates falling to the lowest level in five months. The 30-year rate dropped 24 basis points in the last week to the lowest level since June 2023. Even though rates moved lower, that failed to boost home-buying and refinancing demand. The overall market composite index — a measure of mortgage application volume — decreased in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday. 

The market index fell 1.5% to 191.6 for the week ending December 15 from a week earlier. A year ago, the index stood at 212.5. Key details: Home-buying and refinancing activity fell, despite rates falling across the board. Buyer demand decreased as buyers considered waiting for rates to fall further before buying a home. The purchase index — which measures mortgage applications for the purchase of a home — fell 0.6% from last week.  Refinancing activity also dropped, also potentially as homeowners hold off. The refinance index fell by 1.8%, with the exception of Veterans Affairs refinance applications surging by 18% in the latest week, the MBA said. The average contract rate for the 30-year mortgage for homes sold for $726,200 or less was 6.83% for the week ending December 15. That’s down from 7.07% from the week before.  Th …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]

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