The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell back for the first time in three weeks during the week ended Aril 19 as interest rates continued to rise.  The Index declined 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one... Read more

Existing home sales posted strong gains in February while sales of new homes slipped slightly. In March each category switched directions. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said newly constructed homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000 compared to 668,000 in... Read more

Mortgage interest rates rose for the second straight week, and so did the volume of mortgage applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, increased 3.3 percent on an adjusted basis from one week earlier and 4.0 percent before adjustment.   The... Read more

While builder confidence in the market for new residential construction improved in March, it remained flat in April and residential construction numbers showed a decline in momentum as well. Residential construction starts, which had surged in February, gave back all of those gains in March. The U.S. Census Bureau and... Read more

The interest rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) again topped 7 percent last week, but mortgage application activity still squeezed out a tiny gain.  The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of application volume, increased 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an... Read more

Mortgage application activity drifted lower again last week , the third straight week of mostly fractional declines. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index, a measure of application volume, decreased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and 0.1 percent before adjustment. The Refinance Index declined... Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index moved lower last week, apparently indifferent to a slight improvement in mortgage interest rates. The Index, which measures loan application volume, decreased 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index declined 0.4... Read more

Sales of newly constructed homes were virtually unchanged in February. The 662,000 seasonally adjusted annual units recorded in during the month was down by 2,000 units or 0.3 percent from the rate in January. This did, however, put sales 5.9 percent higher than they were in February 2023. The report... Read more

Rather than easing back from the January level as expected, existing home sales shot significantly higher in February, The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said pre-owned single-family houses, townhouses, condominiums, and cooperative apartments sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million units. This is an increase of 9.5... Read more

After rising a cumulative 17 percentage points over the prior two weeks, mortgage application volume slowed slightly last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, decreased 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and was 1.0 percent... Read more

Builder confidence rose for the fourth straight month and residential construction stats may now be trying to catch up. Both construction permits and housing starts rose in February compared to both January and February 2023 levels. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development  (HUD) said... Read more

A surge in refinance applications drove mortgage application volume higher for the second straight time last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, increased 7.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, 8.0 percent before adjustment.   Refinancing was 12.0 percent higher than... Read more

Whether prompted by a tiny improvement in mortgage rates or the first stirrings of a spring market, mortgage activity reversed course last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that its Market Composite Index, a measure of application volume, increased 9.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week... Read more

Sometimes you'll see coverage of economic data that conforms to certain template with a predictable details and word counts.  Rarely, the word count will reflect the pace of change in the underlying data series.  That's what you're dealing with here. Existing home sales have been depressed since late 2022 and bouncing... Read more

The week ending February 23 produced the third consecutive period of declining mortgage activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier and was down 3,0 percent before adjustment.... Read more