While the average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage (home loan) in the US fell to its lowest level since May 2023 at 6.55 percent, mortgage applications increased by 6.9 percent.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its mortgage data for the week ending August 2.
Accordingly, mortgage applications increased by 6.9 percent last week compared to the previous week.
During this period, applications for home purchases increased by 1 percent and refinancing applications increased by 16 percent.
The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage in the country fell to 6.55 percent from 6.82 percent last week, the lowest level since May 2023.
15 YEAR TERM MORTGAGE
During the same period, the average interest rate for a 15-year mortgage fell from 6.27 percent to 6.03 percent.
MBA Vice President and Associate Chief Economist Joel Kan noted that mortgage rates fell overall last week and mortgage application volume reached its highest level since January.
Kan said mortgage interest rates fell as concerns grew that the economy would slow down faster than expected following “dovish” messages from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and weak employment data.
Noting that refinancing applications have increased due to low interest rates, Kan said that refinancing applications increased by 60 percent compared to the same period last year.