Mortgage rates remained relatively stagnant for the week of Feb. 8 and have remained between 6.6% and 6.7% in each week of 2024, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. For the week of Feb. 8, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.64%; a year ago at the time, the rate averaged 6.12%.
“Mortgage rates remain stagnant, hovering in the mid-6% range over the past several weeks,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist says. “The economy and labor market remain strong with wage growth outpacing inflation, which is keeping consumer spending robust. Meanwhile, affordability in the housing market is an ongoing issue due to continued high home prices, elevated mortgage rates, and low supply of homes on the market, particularly for first-time and low-income home buyers.”
As rates have stabilized and remained below 7%, mortgage purchase activity has remained strong. For the week ending Feb. 2, mortgage applications increased 3.7% from the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey. The seasonally unadjusted purchase index increased 6% from the previous week, while the refinance index increased 12%.
“Rates at these levels have not prompted much of a reaction in the refinance market, as most homeowners have mortgages with much lower rates,” says MBA vice president and deputy chief economist Joel Kan. “Purchase activity has been strong to start 2024 compared to the final quarter of 2024. However, activity is still weaker than a year ago because of low housing supply.”
The refinance share of activity increased to 35.4% of total applications from 34.2% the previous week, according to the MBA. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 6.4% of total applications.
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