Buyers racing to snag a low mortgage rate

Borrowers are getting spooked by rising mortgage rates and, as a result, rushing to lock in rates before any further increases. That, in turn, is pushing mortgage application volume higher – increasing a seasonally adjusted 3.3 percent week over week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.

More buyers are also turning to adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) to try to get more savings in their monthly payments too.

“Mortgage rates increased last week as remarks by several key Federal Reserve officials strongly signaled a March rate increase,” says Joel Kan, an MBA economist. “This was further supported by a few solid economic data releases, including GDP, inflation and manufacturing gauges.”

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.36 percent from 4.30 percent the previous week, the MBA reports; and the share of ARMs reached its highest level of mortgage applications since 2014. The average loan size for purchase applications also reached a survey high of $313,000.

Refinance volume was up 5 percent last week. Applications for home purchases rose 2 percent higher for the week and, and they’re about 4 percent higher than a year ago.

The MBA says mortgage volume remains 18 percent lower compared to the same week a year ago. Volume is mostly lower from a year ago due to a significant decrease in refinance applications from a year ago when interest rates were lower. Refinance volume is down 34 percent annually.

Source: Florida Realtors