Mortgage rates have fallen for the third week in a row, sending home buyers flocking to the market.
The average contract for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances, US$832,750 or less, dropped from 6.42% to 6.35%, with points falling to 0.61 from 0.62, including origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.
“Mortgage rates declined last week as financial markets responded positively to the Middle East ceasefire and the lower trend in oil prices,” Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) senior vice president and chief economist Mike Fratantoni said in a release.
Home-purchase applications rose 10.1% in the week ending April, according to data from the MBA. They were also up 14% year over year.
“Despite the geopolitical uncertainty, housing demand is being supported by a still resilient job market, and homebuyers are experiencing a buyer’s market in most of the country given the higher levels of inventory relative to last year,” Fratantoni said.
The MBA also found that cheaper home-financing costs helped drive up the refinancing index by nearly 6% for the week and 52% year-over-year.
Mortgage News Daily reported that mortgage rates continue to remain volatile amid mixed signals from Donald Trump on the war in Iran, after they rose slightly at the start of the week.
“There was some upward pressure on rates from stronger employment data in the morning [Tuesday], but the market was even more focused on the uncertain status of U.S.-Iran peace talks,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
