The Mortgage
Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Wednesday the mortgage application volume
in the U.S. surged 9.6 percent in the week ended November 8, following a 0.1
percent decrease in the previous week.
According to
the report, applications to purchase a home went up 5.1 percent, while
refinance applications jumped 12.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the
average fixed 30-year mortgage rate rose to 4.03 percent from 3.98 percent.
“Positive data
on consumer sentiment, and growing optimism surrounding the U.S. and China
trade dispute, were behind last week’s rise in the 30-year fixed mortgage
rate,” noted Joel Kan, the MBA’s associate vice president of economic and
industry forecasting. “With rates still in the 4% range, we continue to expect
to see moderate growth in refinance activity in the final weeks of 2020.”