The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported on Wednesday the mortgage application volume in the U.S. surged 16.7 percent in the week ended January 8, following a 1.7 percent advance in the previous week. This was the largest gain since a record 55.4 percent jump registered during the first week of March.

According to the report, applications to purchase a home increased 8.0 percent, while refinance applications climbed 20.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate rose from 2.86 percent to 2.88 percent.

“Booming refinance activity in the first full week of 2021 caused mortgage applications to surge to their highest level since March 2020, despite most mortgage rates in the survey rising last week,” noted Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “The expectation of additional fiscal stimulus from the incoming administration, and the rollout of vaccines improving the outlook, drove Treasury yields and rates higher.”