The Mortgage
Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Wednesday that the mortgage application
volume in the U.S. tumbled 9.4 per cent over the two-week period that ended December
2023.
According to
the MBA’s data, the decline in mortgage applications from two weeks earlier reflected
an 18.1 per cent slump in mortgage refinance applications
and a 5.4 per cent drop in mortgage applications to purchase a home.
The report also
revealed that the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate increased to 6.76 per
cent in the final full week of 2023 from 6.71 per cent the week before. That marked
the first gain in the rate in ten weeks.
Commenting on
the latest survey results, Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief
economist, noted that markets continued to digest the impact of slowing
inflation and potential rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, helping mortgage
rates to stay at levels close to the lowest since mid-2023. He added that the
housing market had been hampered by a limited supply of homes for sale, but the
recent strength in new residential construction would continue to help ease
inventory shortages in the months to come.