Pent-Up Demand, Low Interest Rates Spark 11% Jump in Purchase Loan Applications

Spring may have finally sprung for the housing market. For the fourth week straight, the weekly applications to purchase a home rose, jumping 11 percent according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Though the application volume is still 10 percent below the same time last year, an MBA economist expects the growth to continue as pent-up demand, loosening restrictions, and low mortgage rates buoy sales. And even better news is that hard-hit states such as New York are seeing double-digit increases in purchase applications.

As some states reopen from the nationwide coronavirus shutdown and open houses reemerge, buyers are coming back to the housing market much faster than expected.

Buyer demand kept mortgage application in the positive last week, up 0.3% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

Applications to purchase a home rose for the fourth straight week, jumping a decisive 11%. They were still 10% lower compared with the same week one year ago but that annual loss has been shrinking markedly. Last week, purchase volume was down 19% annually, and one month ago it was down 35%.

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