As some states begin the reopening process, home buyers are re-emerging much faster than expected.
Homebuyer mortgage applications increased for the fourth consecutive week last week, rising 11%. Although they were still 10% lower than this same week last year, it’s a good sign that they’re rising.
New York state’s purchase demand rose last week by 14% while Illinois, Florida, Georgia, California, and North Carolina all had double-digit increases last week as well.
Low-interest rates along with lower loan origination fees are helping to keep buyer demand from totally bottoming out.
“Applications to refinance a home loan have been falling for four straight weeks and dropped another 3% last week. They were still 201% higher than a year ago, when interest rates were nearly a full percentage point higher. Lenders already overloaded with demand are not offering the lowest rates on refinances and also are facing higher risk due to the government’s coronavirus mortgage bailout program.”