Purchase Applications Hit Over 11 Year High Amid Pent-Up Demand, Low Interest Rates
After months of being cooped up, many Americans are set on finding their forever home--or at least a bigger space than the one they were stuck in for the pandemic. Purchase applications jumped 8 percent last week, according to a seasonally adjusted index in a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. HousingWire reports that this marks the ninth straight week of gains as pent-up demand and low interest rates help fan the homebuying frenzy. The volume of refinance applications also experienced its second week of increases after dropping off in May.
A seasonally adjusted index measuring purchase applications jumped 8% last week, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. While the week prior saw the seasonally adjusted index rising to its highest level since January, this week the MBA reported the highest level in over 11 years.
Just as mortgage applications increased, applications for refinancings also rose 10% from the week prior, signaling the second gain for refinancings in two months.
“The housing market continues to experience the release of unrealized pent-up demand from earlier this spring, as well as a gradual improvement in consumer confidence,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
Applications for purchase mortgages gained for the ninth consecutive week as housing demand rose 25% above pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by Redfin.