While the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index for mortgage loan application volume increased 6 percent last week, said increase was actually driven by refinancing activity, the sub-index for which jumped 19 percent and was up 27 percent on a year-over-year basis despite the fact that the average 30-year rate was still over 7 percent.
At the same time, purchase mortgage volume actually ticked down another (1) percent and was down 18 percent on a year-over-year basis, despite the average 30-year rate having dropped.