Mortgage application volume surged 9.9% during the week ended January 5, despite an increase in mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
The results include an adjustment to account for the New Year’s holiday.
One reason for the jump was that volume was very low during the last two weeks of December. But even when taking seasonal patterns into account, applications were higher than expected.
Applications for refinances increased 19% from the previous week and were up 30% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases increased 6% compared with the previous week but were down 16% compared with the same week one year ago.
“Despite an uptick in mortgage rates to start 2024, applications increased after adjusting for the holiday,” says Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “The increase in purchase and refinance applications for both conventional and government loans is promising to start the year but was likely due to some catch-up in activity after the holiday season and year-end rate declines. Mortgage rates and applications have been volatile in recent weeks and overall activity remains low.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38.3% of total applications, up from 36.3% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4% of total applications.
Photo: Romain Dancre