Home Loan Applications Rise as Mortgage Rates Fall to Near 19-Month Low

Mortgage applications rose for the first time in weeks as home loan rates dipped to their lowest levels in about 1 1/2 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) The MBA’s weekly applications survey for the week ended Sept. 6 reported a 1.4 percent increase in overall mortgage-application volume, boosted by a 2 percent rise in home-purchase applications, according to data released by the organization on Sept. 11. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 6.29 percent last week, marking the sixth consecutive week of declines and a level not seen since February 2023. Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, attributed the drop in mortgage rates to declining U.S. Treasury yields, which have been influenced by cooling inflation data and expectations for an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve....