Muristek
By RICHIE MALOUF
THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) — Mortgage rates increased last week, leading to an uptick in the refinance rate.
According to the latest weekly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, rates were up last week after dropping for two consecutive weeks.
“Mortgage rates remained volatile last week. After drops in the previous two weeks, mortgage rates ended up rising four basis points,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
As mortgage rates increased, the number of mortgage applications remained relatively stable, slightly increasing by 0.2% from one week earlier.
The number of refinance applications increased over 3% from the previous week alongside the uptick in mortgage applications.
“Mortgage applications were relatively flat, with a decline in purchase activity offset by an increase in refinance applications,” Mr. Kan said.
Purchasing activity remains slow as Americans continue to face an economy suffering from high prices driven up by inflationary pressures.
“The purchase market continues to experience a slowdown, despite the strong job market,” Mr. Kan said. “Activity has now fallen in five of the last six weeks, as buyers remain on the sidelines due to still-challenging affordability conditions and doubts about the strength of the economy.”
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