The incentives for mortgage refinancing are no more

Real estate loan Refinancing fell to the slowest pace since September 2020, with a decline in both conventional and government applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey.

Why? Savings are alleviated from lower interest rates as prices rise.

The 30-year average mortgage rate with matching loan balances ($ 548,250 or less) rose to 3.36% from 3.28%, up 50 basis points since the start of the year. As a result, the refinancing incentives have been discontinued for many borrowers.

Joel Kahn, MBA vice president for economic and industrial forecasts, said in a statement.

Home sales slide when inventory is at a record low

The MBA Composite Market Index, which is a measure of the volume of mortgage loan applications, fell 2.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased by 2% compared to the previous week.

Mortgage applications for home refinancing fell 5% from the previous week and down 13% compared to the same week last year, according to the MBA Refinancing Index. Traditional refinancing applications decreased 4.7% from the previous week while government refinancing applications decreased 6.5% from the previous week. The share of refinancing in mortgage business decreased to 60.9% of total applications compared to 62.9% in the previous week.

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still, Home buyer request Still going strong, mortgage applications for a home rose 3% last week compared to the previous week, according to the MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase index, the fourth consecutive week of gains. In the absence of adjustment, the purchasing index is up 3% compared to the previous week and was 26% higher than the same week of last year.

“Purchase bids have been strong throughout the week, driven by both families looking for more living space and younger families looking to enter home ownership,” Kan added. The average loan balance increased again, through faster home price growth and higher – balancing traditional applications. “

The average loan size for mortgage requests for the past week was $ 409,300, while the average loan size for refinanced mortgage applications for the previous week was $ 284,200.

However, Kan warned that the inadequate housing stock continues to exert upward pressure on home prices.

“As home prices and mortgage rates continue to grow in this upward trend, we may see affordability challenges become more severe if the new and existing supply does not rise significantly,” he said.

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The latest data from the MBA comes as existing home sales fell 6.6% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.22 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors, while home inventories reached a record low of 1.03 million units until The end. In February, down 29.5% year-on-year compared to 1.46 million units.

The median existing home sales price rose to $ 313,000, an increase of 15.8 percent from $ 270,400 a year ago. The current median single-family home price was $ 317,100 in February, up 16.2% year-on-year, and the current apartment price was $ 280,500 in February, up 12.3% year-on-year. Home sales over $ 1 million were 81% higher than a year ago, while home prices between $ 100,000 and $ 250,000 decreased 11%.

Regionally, expat home sales decreased by 14.4% in the Midwest, 11.5% in the North, 6.1% in the South and 4.6% in the West. Average prices were $ 231,800 in the Midwest, up 14.2% year-on-year; $ 356,000 in the Northeast, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%; $ 271,200 in the South, up 13.6% year-on-year; And $ 493,300 in the West, a year-on-year increase of 20.6%.