Mortgage
demand
rose
slightly
last
week
as
mortgage
rates
moved
lower.

Loan
application
volume
increased
1.6%
on
a
seasonally
adjusted
basis
for
the
week
ending
Aug.
30
compared
to
the
previous
week,
according
to
the


Mortgage
Bankers
Association
(MBA).

The
MBA’s
refinance
index
decreased
0.3%
from
the
previous
week
but
was
94%
higher
than
the
same
week
in
2023.
The
seasonally
adjusted
purchase
index
increased
3%
week
over
week,
inching
closer
to
last
year’s
levels.  

“Most
mortgage
rates
moved
lower
last
week,
with
the
30-year
fixed
rate
edging
down
slightly
to
6.43%,”
Joel
Kan,
MBA’s
vice
president
and
deputy
chief
economist,
said
in
a
statement.

“Refinance
applications
were
slightly
down
but
continued
to
show
strong
annual
gains
as
borrowers
with
higher
rates
have
been
refinancing
to
lower
their
monthly
payments.
Similar
to
purchase
activity,
refinance
activity
has
picked
up
across
the
various
loan
types,”
Kan
added.

The
average
30-year
conforming
mortgage
rate
made
a
drastic
downturn
in
early
August,
dropping
from
nearly
7%
to
a
new
2024
low
point
of
6.58%
as
of
Wednesday,
according
to


HousingWire’s
Mortgage
Rates
Center.

The
MBA’s
survey
showed
that
the
average
contract
interest
rate
for
30-year
fixed-rate
conforming
loans
(balances
of
$766,550
or
less)
decreased
to
6.43%
last
week,
down
1
basis
point
(bps)
from
the
previous
week.
The
average
rate
for
jumbo
loans
(balances
above
$766,550)
fell
2
bps
to
6.73%.

Most
loan
officers
don’t
expect
mortgage
rates
to
drop
drastically
even
if
the


Federal
Reserve
lowers
benchmark
interest
rates
this
month,
a
much-anticipated
move

hinted
at
by
Fed
Chair

Jerome
Powell. 

“The
market
already
priced
in
an
expected
reduction
of
a
forward
curve,”
said
Josh
Erskine,
CEO
of

OneTrust
Home
Loans.
“There
is
no
path
just
purely
on
the
Fed’s
cutting
other
than
the
employment
markets
materially
falling
apart
—
unemployment
shooting
up
will
drive
rates
down.

“But
if
things
stay
the
way
they
are
today,
even
when
the
Fed
starts
the
cut,
you’re
not
going
to
necessarily
see
a
giant
gain
unless
spreads
tighten.”

The
refinance
share
of
applications
decreased
to
46.4%,
down
from
46.6%
the
previous
week. The

Federal
Housing
Administration
(FHA)
share
of
total
applications
decreased
from
15.3%
to
14.6%
during
the
same
period.

The

U.S.
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
share
of
applications
increased
by
80
basis
points
to
16.7%.
And
the

U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture
(USDA)
share
remained
unchanged
at
0.4%.

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