Weekly mortgage refinance demand decreases by 15% after mini-boom.

• The interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances decreased from 6.54% to 6.50%.
• In the past four weeks, the 30-year fixed rate has decreased by 32 basis points, resulting in a 81-basis-point drop compared to the same time last year.
• The number of mortgage applications for purchasing a home decreased by 5% during the week and was 8% lower compared to the same week last year.

Last week, mortgage rates decreased for the third consecutive week, although the demand for refinancing slowed down.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index showed a 15% decrease in applications to refinance a home loan from the previous week. Despite this, volume was 90% higher than the same week one year ago. This increase is likely due to the 23% surge in demand over the past four weeks, as mortgage rates fell.

The interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances decreased to 6.50% from 6.54%, with points increasing to 0.60 from 0.57 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.

In the past four weeks, the 30-year fixed rate has dropped by 32 basis points, resulting in a 81-basis-point decrease from its value a year ago.

"Mortgage rates and applications have stabilized after a period of financial market volatility, which caused a sudden drop in rates, according to Joel Kan, an MBA economist in a statement. However, it's important to note that while rates are lower, they remain at 6.5%, which is still relatively high for borrowers seeking rates below five percent."

A significant number of borrowers currently have interest rates below 5%, with rates falling below 3% during the first two years of the pandemic.

The number of mortgage applications for purchasing homes decreased by 5% during the week and was 8% lower than the same week a year ago. This marks the lowest demand since February. Despite the recent decline in interest rates, homebuyers are still facing affordability issues and are not as influenced by the drop in rates. Home prices are still rising, although at a slower pace than in previous years, and more supply is becoming available on the market.

With more options available, potential buyers may be more selective even with lower mortgage rates, according to Kan.

According to Mortgage News Daily, mortgage rates decreased even more at the beginning of this week, as reported in a separate survey.

"Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily, wrote that the lowest rates in just over 2 weeks might seem exciting, but we didn't learn anything new about current trends that we didn't know yesterday. In fact, there was a lot of rate volatility earlier in the month, and we've been in a slow, largely sideways grind since then as we wait for more compelling motivations."