Mortgage rate lock volume decreased 13.71% in December compared with November, according to Mortgage Capital Trading Inc.
The decrease comes despite a recent drop in mortgage rates.
Refinances saw a modest uptick for the month, but this failed to make a significant impact on overall mortgage volume.
Seasonal trends, coupled with challenges in the purchase market, have eclipsed the potential benefits of a full percentage point decrease in rates, the firm says in its Lock Volume Indices report.
“Softening purchase prices, paired with a further drop in rates, could boost purchases and refinances,” says Phil Rasori, chief operating officer at MCT, in a statement. “However, we anticipate that seasonal lows in the purchase market will persist through Q1.”
MCT’s Lock Volume Indices present a snapshot of rate lock volume activity in the residential mortgage industry broken out by lock type (purchase, rate/term refinance, and cash out refinance) across a broad diversity of lenders (e.g., sizes, products/services offered, business models) from MCT’s national footprint.