Refinancing Volume Responds to Improvement in Rates

Refinancing Volume Responds to Improvement in Rates

The volume of mortgage applications rose fractionally last week as rates edged down and applications for refinancing staged a small comeback. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, increased 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier although it was down 20 percent from the prior week before adjustment. Applications for refinancing rose 2.0 percent week-over-week but were 80 percent below the level during the same week in 2021. The share of refinance applications ticked up from 29.7 percent of the total received the previous week to 30.3 percent. [refiappschart] The Purchase Index rose 0.1 percent compared to the prior week on an adjusted basis, but the unadjusted index fell 21 percent from a week e