Mortgage Applications Increased 26% Last Week

Mortgage application volume jumped 26.8% last week compared to a week earlier, as consumers jumped to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates in nearly two years.

CNBC reports that mortgage application volume last week was also 41% higher than it was a year ago.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) decreased to 4.12% from 4.23%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.33 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That rate was 4.83% a year ago, 71 basis points higher.

Refinances, which are most rate-sensitive, led the surge, jumping a remarkable 47% week to week and 97% annually. That pushed the refinance share of total mortgage application volume to 49.8% from 42.2%. It is nothing short of a refinancing boom, with applications now up 63% in the four weeks as rates have fallen 28 basis points over that time.

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