Talking Points …
- Mortgage interest rates bumped back over 4 percent last week, causing a drop in both mortgage applications to refinance and to purchase a home. Total application volume fell 6.6 percent from the previous week, on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
- Refinance applications were off 7 percent week-to-week, after soaring in previous weeks, thanks to lower interest rates. That brief drop in mortgage interest rates was a boon largely to wealthier borrowers with big home loans.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 4.13 percent from 4.10 percent last week, according to the MBA. Some borrowers were still getting loans in the 3 percent range just two weeks ago.