Having slipped over the previous two holiday weeks, purchase mortgage loan activity across the U.S. ticked up 8 percent over the past week and was 10 percent higher than at the same time last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
And with the benchmark 30-year mortgage rate having dropped to a new all-time low of 2.65 percent last week, which was 99 basis points below its mark at the same time last year, refinancing activity increased by 20 percent and was up by 93 percent, year-over-year.