Home Financing's Record High, Low Last Week

During the week starting October 29, total mortgage application volume hit a four-year low, and interest rates reach an eight-year high, per the latest index data from the the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Applications to purchase a home dropped five percent week-over-week, leading total volume down four percent over the previous week. Annually, purchase applications were down 0.2 percent. Chief economist for the MBA Michael Fratantoni tells CNBC, "Housing supply has been quite constrained for several years. As a result, the housing market has been out of whack, with home prices increasing at twice the rate of income growth. That was not sustainable." The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan with balances less than or equal to $453,100 grew to 5.15 percent from 5.11 during the week.

"Rates increased slightly last week, as various job market indicators showed a bounce back in job gains and an acceleration in wage growth in October," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasts. Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan have been falling for more than a year and fell 3 percent more last week. Volume was 33 percent lower than a year ago.

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