Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Mortgage applications and applications for mortgage refinancing in the United States are both up following an average 0.31 basis-point decline in mortgage rates.
But mortgage applications still are 16% lower than the same week one year ago, while refinance applications are still 82% lower than a year ago.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, seasonally adjusted mortgage applications increased by 1.2% for the week ending July 29, while mortgage refinancing applications rose by 2%.
The association said in a statement that the average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.43% from 5.74%.
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"The drop in rates led to increases in both refinance and purchase applications, but compared to a year ago, activity is still depressed, Joel Kan, the association's associate vice President of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement.
"Lower mortgage rates, combined with signs of more inventory coming to the market, could lead to a rebound in purchase activity," he said.
Kan's statement said the drop in rates led to the increases in mortgage and refinancing applications.
According to the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Trends report, the share of buyers seeing more homes rose 5% in the second quarter of 2022.
The report said expectations of housing availability are up in all regions except the Midwest, where it declined by 1%. In the West, it rose 13%, it is 6% higher in the Northeast and 1% higher in the South.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 30.8% from 30.7% the week before.
For the week ending July 15, mortgage demand had hit a 22-year low, according to the association.
