Lower mortgage interest rates are spurring demand from home buyers, according to a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA.
Mortgage applications last week rose 28% from the week before, according to seasonally adjusted information. The MBA refinancing index also increased by 34% from last week.
“As we enter the beginning of the spring weather salesLow mortgage rates and more homes on the market will help support the potential for first-time homebuyers,” MBA chief economist and senior vice president Mike Fratantoni said in a statement. Wednesday.
The report noted that mortgage rates are below their lowest level since September. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a loan balance ($726,200 or less) was 6.23% last week, down from 6.42% in the week before.
Despite the income, the housing market is still feeling the impact of Federal Reserve raises interest rates, which has reduced housing market activity. The number of sales remained 35% below the levels from the same period last year and the series of refinancing was 81% lower than the same week in 2022, by according to MBA.
The MBA survey has been conducted weekly since 1990, and covers 75% of all US residential mortgage applications.
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It’s also Wednesday, the National Association of Home Buildersor NAHB, reported that the construction rate for new single-family homes built in January rose to 35 thanks to “a low interest rate drop.”
The number is low enough to indicate that the majority of builders view the conditions as negative (any number above 50 indicates that most builders view the conditions as positive), but The jump marks the end of the year’s decline in the level of confidence.
“It appears that the lowest point for construction sentiment this cycle was recorded in December,” NAHB chairman Jerry Konter said in a statement Wednesday. “Elevated construction sentiment means the low cycle for permits and starts is likely to be imminent, and the recovery for home construction may begin as late as 2023.”
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