From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications increased 2.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 5, 2017.
… The Refinance Index increased 3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier to its highest level since October 2015. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 6 percent higher than the same week one year ago. …
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) remained unchanged at 4.23 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.32 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows the refinance index since 1990.
Refinance activity remains low – and will not increase significantly unless rates fall sharply.
The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.
Even with the increase in mortgage rates late last year, purchase activity is still up year-over-year.