As lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus begin to recede, people are returning to the housing market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Recent figures show this is bing reflected in the latest mortage applications as well as purchasing interest, notes the MBA. Applications for mortages increased 0.3 percent last week over the preceeding week while the purchasing index rose 11 percent.
“We expect this positive purchase trend to continue—at varying rates across the country—as states gradually loosen social distancing measures, and some of the pent-up demand for housing returns in what typically are the final weeks of the spring home buying season,”said Joel Kan, MBA’s association vice president. Interest in refinancing fell by 3 percent from the previous week but still is 201 percent higher than the same week last year. The average contract interest rate for the 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly to 3.43 percent from 3.40 percent.