Loan demand dropped 2.3 percent last week as a slight increase in rates may have spooked potential home buyers and refinancers.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that applications to refinance saw the bulk of the decrease last week, dropping 3 percent for the week. Applications to purchase a home saw a 1 percent decrease for the week. However, applications to buy are still 10 percent higher than the same week a year ago, the MBA reports.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 4.19 percent to 4.20 percent last week.
Fears over the prospect of higher interest rates and fallout from proposed tax reform in 2018 may be prompting some buyers to make a move before the end of year, CNBC reports. Some local REALTOR® associations have recently reported a sizable jump in newly signed contracts for purchasing existing homes.
For example, “the residential market in Northern Virginia during November provided some impressive sales statistics, counter to historical trends where the month is generally one of the quietest for selling,” Tracy Comstock, principal broker of SilverLine Realty & Investment, said in a report from the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®.
Source: “Weekly Mortgage Applications Fall 2.3% as Rates Rise,” CNBC (Dec. 13, 2017)
