Columbia’s MBA says US Mortgage filings rise as rates edge lower, US home sales carom

• Home
• mortage

On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), a Washington DC-based group of entities engaged in all facades of US real estate industry having had more than 2,200 members, said that US mortgage application rose robustly last week, as filings for mortgages had hit their strongest since early-July with long-term US home loans edging lower.

Aside from that, latest remarks from the 108-year old association of US real estate entities came forth a couple of days after Government data had revealed that US existing home sales rose for a second successive month in July, while sales of new single-family homes, the most lucrative item in US housing market, clawed back sharply last month following three straight months of decline.

Surprisingly, latest unprecedented upsurge in US housing market came against the backdrop of a steep supply constraint alongside sky-scrapping raw materials’ prices, as US inventories of new single-family homes had reportedly increased last month as a number of properties with building permits had yet to begin construction due to a latest leg of ruckus on supply chains around the country.

US Mortgage Applications rise as mortgage rates edge lower

Besides, MBA had added in the statement released earlier in the day that its average interest rate for traditional 30-year home loans fell to 3.03 per cent from a 3.06 per cent in the week that ended on August 20, while filings for new mortgages had increased by 1.6 per cent compared to a week earlier and purchasing applications gained ground, too.

According to US Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, US 30-year fixed rate mortgages fell marginally last week to 2.86 per cent. Meanwhile, underscoring a growing price pressure building across the board in US housing market, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, Joel Kan said, “The purchase index was at its highest level since early July, despite still continuing to lag 2020’s pace.

There was also some easing in average loan sizes, which is potentially a sign that more first-time buyers looking for lower-priced homes are being helped by the recent uptick in for-sale inventory for both newly built homes and existing homes”.