Mortgage application numbers have risen on a yearly basis as rates dropped, with the Federal Reserve expected to announce an interest rate cut on Wednesday.
“Applications for new home purchases continue to show year-over-year growth, increasing by more than four percent and extending the annual growth streak to 19 consecutive months,” Joel Kan, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA’s) vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.
August data from the MBA showed that applications for new home purchases increased by 4.4 percent from 2023 and retained momentum by not lowering from the prior month.
Freddie Mac reported the weekly average for 30-year mortgage rates at 6.2 percent as of Sept. 12, nearly 1 percentage drop from a year ago, and 0.15 lower than the week before. It’s considerably lower than this year’s peak of 7.22 percent reported at the beginning of May and is at the lowest level since February 2023, the company said….