The Refinancing Factor

Falling mortgage rates caused the volume of mortgage applications to rise 1.5% since last week, according to a report by CNBC. 

The report states the increase was mostly driven by those looking to refinance, as the average interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages was 4.23%.

CNBC states that refinance applications increased 6% since last week and 33% year-over-year. A recent report issued by Black Knight states that declining mortgages rates have resulted in 5.9 million refinance candidates in April, which is an increase of 2 million from March.

Mortgage rates have been on a downward trend over the past few months, and the average rate for all mortgage types fell to 4.20% in April.

The report from Black Knight adds that the 5.9 million candidates is the largest this group has been in almost three years, and represents an average of $1.6 billion in potential monthly savings by refinancing.

Of those 5.9 million, nearly 1 million eligible for refinancing took out mortgages last year.

Black Knight adds that the amount is the most of any vintage, and more than all of 2012-2017 combined, which represents not only the greatest attrition risk, but also the biggest pocket of refinance-lending opportunity.

Although mortgage applications have increased due to refinancing opportunities, applications to purchase homes dipped 2% this week, and is showing a 0.5% increase year-over-year.

A report by Redfin last month states that sale prices for new home fell 1% year-over-year in April, which was the first drop in seven years.

Sale prices for existing homes grew 1.5% from Q1 2018, which is the slowest pace in seven years. New home sales declined 3.1% year-over-year in Q1 2019, which was the third consecutive quarter of declines.

The supply of new homes saw an increase of 4.2% and Q1 2019 was the fourth consecutive period of increases. Existing home supplies rose 4.8% during the first four months of the year.

Mortgage application volume rises, driven by refinances from CNBC.