The US Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced mortgage application research results for two weeks.
Accordingly, the seasonally adjusted market index of mortgage application activity, which includes refinancing and purchase loans, fell 9.4 percent to 173.5 points in two weeks.
According to the weekly report published by MBA and shared with Foreks News via e-mail, the purchase index fell 5.0 percent from two weeks ago to 140.7 points, while the refinancing index fell 15.0 percent to 358.2 points.
"Markets continued to digest the impact of slowing inflation and possible Fed rate cuts, helping to keep mortgage rates at their lowest levels since mid-2023," MBA Vice President Joel Kan said.
Although the 30-year mortgage rate rose last week, it ended the year at 6.76 percent. This was 1.14 percentage points below the 7.9 percent peak seen in October.
"The drop in rates has given the housing market a reason for optimism going into 2024, but purchase applications have yet to respond; the overall level of purchase activity is 12 percent lower than a year ago. Refinancing applications are still at very low levels, but 15 percent higher than a year ago."
The 15-year rate ended the year at 6.26 percent, the 5-year ARM loan rate at 5.71 percent, and the 30-year jumbo (greater than $647,200) mortgage rate at 6.86 percent.
