Mortgage application volume dipped 0.6% on an adjusted basis during the week ended Nov. 27, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 2.92%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances decreased 5% from the previous week while applications for purchases increased 9%.
Year over year, applications for refinances were up 102% and applications for purchases were up 28%.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume decreased 32% compared with the previous week.
“After adjusting for the Thanksgiving holiday, mortgage applications were mixed, with a jump in purchase applications and a decline in refinances,” says Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting for the MBA, in a statement. “Purchase activity continued to show impressive year-over-year gains, with both the conventional and government segments of the market posting another week of growth.
“Purchase loan amounts continue to be significantly higher than their average over the past decade and hit $375,000 last week, the largest since the inception of MBA’s survey in 1990,” Kan says. “Housing demand remains strong, and despite extremely tight inventory and rising prices, home sales are running at their strongest pace in over a decade.
“The sustained period of low mortgage rates continues to spark borrower demand, and the mortgage industry is poised for its strongest year in originations since 2003,” Kan adds. “The ongoing refinance wave has been beneficial to homeowners looking to lower their monthly payments during these challenging economic times brought forth by the pandemic.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 69.5% of total applications, down from 71.1% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 1.8% of total applications.