Mortgage applications in the United States dropped 13.2% from two weeks earlier, hitting the lowest level since 1996, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey published on Wednesday for the week ending December 30. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.58%.
As per the report, the holiday-adjusted Refinance Index decreased 16.3% in the same period, arriving at a figure 87% lower than in the corresponding week one year ago. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 12.2% from two weeks earlier.
MBA Vice President Joel Kan remarked that applications continued to decline caused by mortgage rates well above 6% and "the threat of a recession looming," adding that these factors "put a strain on affordability and are keeping prospective homebuyers out of the market."
