Are we seeing a spike in mortgage rate applications?
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications have seen a 10% jump in applications after recent declines on mortgages rates.
Refinancing activity has also started to rebound, with the Refinance Index up 8% for the week.
Lenders stated that economic data on inflation coming in near expectations has led them to believe that the Fed’s approach is working, and may lead to rate cuts.
Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist, said, “The latest data on inflation was not markedly better nor worse than expected, which was enough to bring mortgage rates down a bit.”
When asked about the spike in applications, MBA President and CEO, Bob Broeksmit said, “A small decline in mortgage rates last week led to a nearly 10 percent jump in mortgage applications, with refinance and purchase activity both posting solid gains. Housing inventory remains tight and home prices are elevated, but first-time buyer interest is strong this spring.”
Where are mortgage rates at after Wednesday’s data?
The national average for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate was down 0.05% to 6.92%* on Thursday. Chairman Powell did testify to Congress again, and his message was virtually identical to yesterday’s. Bonds rallied a bit towards the end of the day, and helped mortgage rates end the day lower.
The next major data point is inflation metrics next week.
Will certain communities pay you to move there?
Have you ever spoken to someone who claimed that certain states or places would pay you to move there? It’s actually true, but you may want to check the fine print. Realtor.com detailed 10 areas of the U.S. that will actually pay people to move there.
For example, Tulsa, OK will give newcomers a $10,000 grant to move from out of state, but you must have a full-time, fully remote job, be over 18 years old, and have lived outside of Oklahoma for at least a year.
When it comes to states, West Virginia has the Ascend West Virginia program that also pays $10,000 in the first year, and an additional $2,000 in their second to remote workers or folks who own a business outside of West Virginia.
* National average rates accurate as of 3/7/24 from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are not advertised rates from Guaranteed Rate.
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in under 10 minutes. Grab a few important documents to get started.
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