Refi Applications Fall to 53% of Mix Amid Rate Spike

For the week ending February 11, mortgage applications fell 5.4%, showing what the mortgage market looks like when rates hit 4% for the first time since 2019. The seasonally adjusted refi index from the Mortgage Bankers Association decreased 8.9% from the previous week, reducing its percentage of total applications to its lowest level in 19 months. The purchasing index, on the other hand, fell only 1.2%. Mortgage applications fell 39.8% from the same week a year ago, with a substantial reduction in refinancing (-54.1%) compared to purchase (-39.8%). Since 1990, the poll has covered over 75% of all retail home mortgage applications in the United States.

According to Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, Unrelenting inflationary pressure increased market expectations of more aggressive policy moves by the Federal Reserve. As a result, it raised Treasury yields and, as a result, mortgage rates. As a result, the FHA’s proportion of total applications increased to 8.3% from 8% the week before. Meanwhile, the share of activity for adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 4.5% to 5%, while the USDA remained at 0.4%. According to the poll, refinancing accounted for 52.8% of total applications the previous week, down from 56.2% the week before.

The small drop in purchase applications over the week was primarily due to a decline in government buy applications. Prospective purchasers are nevertheless confronted with rising sales prices and higher mortgage rates. In addition, economists expected that interest rates would rise in 2022 as the economy steadied, resulting in fewer mortgage applications, which lenders must be mindful of. To read more, click here.

https://www.housingwire.com/articles/refi-applications-fall-to-53-of-total-amid-rate-spike/

About Note Servicing Center

Note Servicing Center provides professional, fully compliant loan servicing for private mortgage investors so they can avoid the aggravation of servicing their own loans and just relax and get paid.

Contact us today for more information.