The Mortgage
Bankers Association (MBA) announced
on Wednesday that the mortgage application volume in the U.S. surged by 6.3 per cent in the week ended November 22, following a 1.7
per cent climb the week before. This represented the strongest weekly advance
in total mortgage application volume since the week that ended September 20 (+11.0 per cent).
According to
the MBA’s data, last week’s soar in mortgage applications reflected
a 12.4 per cent jump in mortgage applications to purchase a home that was partly offset by a 2.6 per cent decrease
in mortgage refinance applications.
The report also
showed that the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate slipped from 6.90 per cent to 6.86
per cent, recording
its first drop in nine weeks.
Commenting on
the latest survey results, Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief
economist, noted that with the growth in for-sale inventory and signs that the
economy remains strong, buyers have remained in the market even though rates
have increased recently. “The increase in conventional purchase applications
helped push the average purchase loan size to $439,200, its highest level in
almost a month,” he added.