Weekly mortgage demand surges nearly 11% higher, despite volatile interest rates

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher last week, but both current homeowners and potential homebuyers returned to the mortgage market, perhaps for the last spring push. Total mortgage application volume rose 10.8% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.60% from 6.57%, with points decreasing to 0.63 from 0.67, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment. LEARN MORE...