While mortgage loan application volumes to either purchase or refinance a home in the U.S. ticked up 8.5 percent last week, having dropped to a two-year low in February, prior to the start of the spring buying/selling season, purchase activity was down 7 percent on a year-over-year basis and applications to refinance were down 50 percent, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
At the same time, the average rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage dipped with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulting in a flight to safety, driving up the price of bonds.