Mortgage applications are falling, and weeks of rising rates are likely to blame.
Combined refinancing and purchase mortgage applications were down 0.8% through Friday, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data. Lower refinancing activity was responsible for the bulk of that drop, falling 3% from a week earlier and trending 4% lower than a year ago.
Purchase volumes, meanwhile, were up 1% from a week earlier.
“Higher mortgage rates and continued economic uncertainty weighed down on mortgage applications again,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.
In the last month, mortgage rates rose from multiyear lows of below 6% to around 6.5%. That jump has closed the refinancing window for some borrowers.
The MBA estimated that 30-year conventional mortgage rates averaged 6.51% last week, down slightly from 6.57% a week earlier but still high enough to give potential borrowers pause.
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