United States mortgage applications fell sharply last week as mortgage rates reached their highest point since last August.
Contract rates for 30-year fixed mortgages climbed by 0.14 percentage points to 6.57% for the week ending 27 March. Applications dropped 10.4% from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said.
“The 30-year mortgage rate, now at 6.57 percent, reached its highest level since last August and is up half a percentage point from just one month ago,” said MBA SVP and chief economist Mike Fratantoni.
“The headwinds of higher rates are being offset somewhat by the buyer’s market in many parts of the country – there are more homes for sale than buyers have seen in some time,” said Fratantoni. “However, the shocks of the jump in rates and the increase in overall economic uncertainty are likely having an impact on buyer confidence.”
The MBA’s refinance activity index also plummeted 17% from the prior week, and is down by more than 40% from one month ago.
Mortgage rates have risen by 0.48 percentage points since the U.S. and Israel began their war on Iran at the end of February.
While the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill to boost housing supply by cutting regulatory barriers in March, it has so far stalled in the House of Representatives.
Another bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate yesterday would revamp housing assistance eligibility requirements, which its sponsors say could help around 30 million prospective homebuyers in rural areas access loans.
