Forget the Turkey, Buyers Were Hungry for Homes Last Week

Homebuyers appeared to be less impressed with their turkey and pumpkin pie last week as mortgage demand spiked 9% compared to the previous week. Though Thanksgiving week is not typically a popular homebuying time, it is another out of character event from the housing market this year. According to CNBC, purchase applications were 28% higher than last year at this time, and now, the average purchase loan has hit its highest number ever. The average purchase loan amount reached $375,000, which may be a result of the still low mortgage rates, which give buyers more purchasing power.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($510,400 or less) was unchanged at 2.92% last week, a record low, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That rate was 105 basis points higher a year ago.

Applications to refinance a home loan fell 5% for the week, but were an impressive 102% higher than a year ago.

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