(Bloomberg) — US mortgage rates increased last week to the highest since mid-November, pushing down a gauge of home-purchase applications to the lowest level in nearly three decades.
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The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose 9 basis points to 6.71%, the highest since the week ended Nov. 11, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The group’s index of mortgage applications to buy a home fell for a third week, still the weakest reading since 1995.
Mortgage News Daily, which updates more frequently, put the 30-year rate at 6.85% on Tuesday.
The MBA’s index of refinancing applications dropped 5.5%, also the third-straight decline. The gauge of overall mortgage applications fell 5.7% to 188.5 in the week ended Feb. 24, the weakest since the start of the year. The data can be volatile around holidays, and the week included Presidents’ Day.
The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.
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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-30-mortgage-rate-rises-132757436.html