Mortgage Apps: Another Surprise Increase, Despite Turmoil

Bottom Line:  Mortgage applications rose last week, despite the turmoil in the banking system. Even as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage still averaged close to 7%, according to the survey, mortgage bankers saw a jump in both refi and purchase applications. While the level of both was still historically low, there may have been some "lock-in" effect as borrowers who were on the fence jumped to get applications completed fearing higher rates or lower availability in the wake of bank failures. Overall, we should be mindful that the level of mortgage applications remains quite low, but those involved remain highly sensitive to what mortgage modelers call "media effects", headlines about mortgage rates and credit availability.