Purchase Applications Rise for Eighth Straight Week

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revealed mortgage applications rose 9.3% weekly for the week ending June 5. 

Purchase applications continued its run of success, rising week-over-week by 15% and annually by 13%. 

"Fueled again by low mortgage rates, pent-up demand from earlier this spring, and states reopening across the country, purchase mortgage applications and refinances both increased. The recovery in the purchase market continues to gain steam, with the seasonally adjusted index rising to its highest level since January. Purchase activity increased for the eighth straight week and was a notable 13% higher than a year ago," said Joel Kan, MBA's AVP of Economic and Industry Forecasting. "Refinances moved higher for the first time in nearly two months, with both conventional and government applications rising and the overall index coming in 80 percent above year-ago levels."

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey found the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly to 3.18% from the survey’s low of 3.15%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.62%, which is unchanged from the prior week. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.28% at this time last year. 

“While the economy is slowly rebounding, all signs continue to point to a solid recovery in home sales activity heading into the summer as prospective buyers jump back into the market. Low mortgage rates are a key factor in this recovery,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “While homebuyer demand is up and has been broad-based across most geographies, supply has been slower to improve. In fact, the gap between supply and demand has widened even further than the large gap that existed prior to the pandemic.”  

Refinances accounted for 61.3% of total applications, which is an increase from the prior weeks 59.5%. 

The MBA stated the Federal Housing Administration share of total applications rose to 11.5% from the previous weeks’ 11.2%. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.3% from 12.% the week prior.