Mortgage Activity & Refinance Activity Already Cooling Off

Apparently the tick up in rates and the pull-forward of February housing purchases is taking a toll on mortgage on data.  The Mortgage Bankers Association has now reported that the number of mortgage applications filed in the United States last week fell by 7.4% from the prior week.

As rates rose a bit in the last week, some borrowers may have put refinancing plans on hold.  The refinancing activity actually fell by 9.3% in the weekly survey data. Purchasing was down on a seasonally adjusted basis by about 1% in the last week as well.

The four-week moving average was down by 2.8% for all mortgage applications.  The four-week refinancing was down by 4.3% and purchasing was still positive by being up 3.3%.   Most of this is probably in-line with expectations considering the pop in longer-term interest rates.  Still, it may cool some of the argument that housing is trying to take off.  Rates are still so low by any historic standards that the uptick should not have been a true deterrent for highly qualified buyers.

JON C. OGG