A real estate agent is showing a home.
The first news of the omicron variant caused a brief drop in mortgage rates, which caused a surge in mortgage demand last week. It will likely be short-lived.
The weekly average of the 30-year fixed was not that dramatic. The points for loans with a 20% down payment went down to 0.39 from 0.43 for loans with a 3.30% balance.
That was the average. Rates dropped sharply at the end of the previous week and then stayed there through last Tuesday before climbing again Wednesday.
It was enough time to cause a 9% jump in refinance applications. They were still lower than a year ago. Mortgage rates were lower last year.
The weekly increase in government demand was 20%. The share of mortgage activity that was refinanced rose to 63.9%.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate and 15-year fixed mortgage rate both declined one basis point, but the FHA rate fell 7 basis points, driving the surge in government refinances. The window of opportunity to refinance will get smaller if rates go up, according to an economist.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home, which are less sensitive to weekly rate changes, decreased 5% for the week and were 8% lower than a year ago. This is after four weeks of gains.
Kan said that activity is close to the highest level since March 2021, which is a positive sign. There is a lack of inventory, combined with rapid rates of home-price appreciation and mortgage rates higher than in 2020.
Mortgage rates are up 11 basis points from a week ago, according to Mortgage News Daily. The yield on the U.S. Treasury is a factor in mortgage rates.
Matthew Graham COO of Mortgage News Daily wrote that investors have rushed back into the stock market as a result of the lower severity of covid symptoms in omicron cases.
