Mortgage
demand
dipped
last
week
as
mortgage
rates
reached
their
highest
levels
since
November
2023.

Applications
decreased
by
2.3%
on
a
seasonally
adjusted
basis
during
the
week
ending
April
26,
according
to
the


Mortgage
Bankers
Association’s
(MBA)
weekly
mortgage
applications
survey. 

“Inflation
remains
stubbornly
high,
and
this
trend
is
convincing
markets
that
rates,
including
mortgage
rates,
are
going
to
stay
higher
for
longer.
No
doubt,
this
is
a
headwind
for
the
housing
and
mortgage
markets,
with
the
30-year
fixed
mortgage
rate
increasing
to
7.29%
last
week,
the
highest
level
since
November
2023,”
Joel
Kan,
MBA’s
vice
president
and
deputy
chief
economist,
said
in
a
statement. 

“Application
volume
for
both
purchase
and
refinances
declined
over
the
week
and
remain
well
below
last
year’s
pace.
One
notable
trend
is
that
the
ARM
share
has
reached
its
highest
level
for
the
year
at
7.8%.
Prospective
homebuyers
are
looking
for
ways
to
improve
affordability,
and
switching
to
an
ARM
is
one
means
of
doing
that,
with
ARM
rates
in
the
mid-6%
range
for
loans
with
an
initial
fixed
period
of
5
years.”

​​Purchase
loan
application
volume
fell
by
2%
from
one
week
earlier,
while

refinance
volume
dropped
by
3%
from
the
prior
week.
The
refinance
share
of
mortgage
activity
decreased
to
30.2%
of
total
applications,
down
from
30.8%
the
previous
week.

The
MBA
survey
showed
that
the
average

mortgage
rate
for
30-year
fixed
loans
with
conforming
balances
($766,550
or
less)
increased
to
7.29%,
up
from
7.24%
last
week.
Meanwhile,
rates
on

jumbo
loans
(balances
greater
than
$766,550)
also
decreased
week
over
week
to
7.39%,
down
from
7.45%. 

On
Wednesday,


HousingWire’s
Mortgage
Rates
Center
showed
the
average
30-year
fixed
rate
for
conventional
loans
at
7.57%,
up
from
7.52%
one
week
earlier.

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