Mortgage Rates At 35-Week High But Purchase Applications Picking Up
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the week ending June 5th, 30-year fixed rate mortgages are the priciest they have been since October 3rd. Granted, at just 4.28%, 30-year fixed rates are historically very low but are 41 basis points higher than the low for the year.
Given the move in rates, it is not surprising to see that the refinance index has fallen back toward 2014 lows. The good news is that the purchase index is close to breaking out to five year highs and the percentage of lows that are refi loans has fall to 48.9% from 73.9% earlier this year. In other words, loans for purchase represent more than half of the mortgage market for just the second time since 2009 (the other was on May 2nd, 2014). However, the overall level remains very depressed.
