US mortgage applications keep rising, rates at lowest since August

ISTANBUL

US mortgage applications continued to rise last week as mortgage interest rates kept falling, according to a report Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Dec. 1, compared to the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index soared 43% compared to the previous week.

"Slower inflation, and financial markets anticipating the potential end of the Fed’s hiking cycle, are both behind the recent decline in rates," MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan said in a statement.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 7.17% last week, from 7.37% the previous week, to reach its lowest level since August. That rate plummeted 25 basis points for the week ending Nov. 3, recording its largest single-week decline since July 2022.

The average contract interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.8% from 6.88%.

The MBA survey covers more than 75% of US retail residential mortgage applications.