Applications for U.S. home mortgages surged by the most in more than six years last week as 30-year mortgage rates dropped below 4 percent for the first time since May 2013 on the back of falling U.S. government bond yields, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, jumped 49.1 percent in the week ended Jan. 9, its largest weekly percentage gain since late November 2008, in the middle of the U.S. financial crisis.
Refinancing activity was especially heavy. The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications jumped 66.4 percent, the largest percentage gain in volume also since late November 2008, to its highest level since July 2013.
The gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, gained 23.6 percent to its highest level since September 2013.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.89 percent in the week, down 12 basis points from 4.01 percent the week before. They hit their lowest level since May 2013.
“The US economy and job market continued to show signs of strength, but weakness abroad and tumbling oil prices have led to further declines in longer-term interest rates,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist.
via Reuters
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.