Despite a drop in mortgage rates to a six-month low, purchase mortgage application volume in the U.S. ticked down 5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the past two weeks and was down 12 percent on a year-over-year basis, from the end of 2022, at which point application volume was down 42 percent from 2021, based on application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
At the same time, the average rate for a 30-year jumbo mortgage actually inched up a basis point 6.86 percent and the average rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage is poised to inched up from 6.61 percent this week as well.