According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates rose again last week. Rates were up across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate loans with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. But despite rising rates, purchase activity increased 8 percent from the week before. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the average loan size set another record, indicating that most of the activity is on the higher end of the market. “The average loan size for a purchase application set a record at $418,500,” Kan said. “The continued rise in purchase loan application sizes is driven by high home-price appreciation and the lack of housing inventory on the market – especially for entry-level homes.” The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)
