The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) informed on Wednesday that the
mortgage application volume in the U.S. went up 1.2 percent in the week ended July
29, following a 1.8 percent fall the week before. This represented the first gain
in total mortgage application volume in five weeks.
According to the MBA’s data, last week’s advance reflected a 1.5 percent
increase in mortgage refinance applications and a 1.0 percent rise in mortgage
applications to purchase a home.
The report also revealed that the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate declined from 5.74
percent to 5.43 percent, its lowest level since the week ended June 3 (5.40
percent). This marked the biggest decrease in mortgage costs since 2020.
Commenting on the latest survey results, Joel Kan, MBA Associate Vice
President of Economic and Industry Forecasting, noted that the drop in mortgage
rates, which was caused by the announcement of tighter monetary policy from the
Federal Reserve, led to gains in both refinance and purchase applications. But,
he added, that activity remained depressed compared to a year ago. Kan,
however, suggested that lower mortgage rates, combined with signs of more inventories
coming to the market, could lead to a rebound in purchase activity.