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The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
increased to 5.37% in the week ended April 22 from 5.20% a week
earlier, the MBA survey showed.
It has risen 220 basis points from 12 months ago, with most of
the rise since the turn of the year as financial markets have
reacted to the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest
rates more swiftly to combat high inflation.
The central bank is expected to lift its benchmark interest rate
by 50 basis points at its policy meeting next week, and to
decide to start cutting its portfolio of $8.5 trillion of U.S.
Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities - a stash of assets
that had helped keep consumer borrowing costs, for mortgages in
particular, low throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The housing market continues to give mixed signals, mostly
because of near record low supply.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index survey on
Tuesday showed the number of consumers planning to buy a house
climbed, despite soaring mortgage rates and record house prices.
The median existing house price jumped 15% from a year earlier
to an all-time high of $375,300 in March, the National
Association of Realtors reported last week.
Still, mortgage applications declined last week for the second
week in a row. The MBA said its Purchase Composite Index, a
measure of all mortgage loan applications for purchase of a
single family home, fell 7.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis,
while the refinance index fell 9%.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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