Home prices near record even as mortgage applications drop

Cost of homes in US hit new all-time high in May for fourth consecutive month

Interest in purchasing a home remains high even as prices rise, although overall mortgage application demand has declined.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Requests for mortgage applications declined 3.1% in the past week, according to the weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 0.3% from one week earlier as mortgage rates declined.

HOME PRICES REACH NEW HIGH IN MAY AS GROWTH PACE SLOWS

The cost of homes in the United States hit a new all-time high in May for the fourth consecutive month.

"Most of the decline in mortgage rates came late last week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declining to 3.15%," said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. "This likely impacted refinance applications, which fell 5 percent for both conventional and government loans."

"Purchase applications were up slightly last week, and the large annual decline was the result of Memorial Day 2021 being compared to a non-holiday week, as well as the big upswing in applications seen last May once pandemic-induced lockdowns started to lift," added Kan.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

The survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990.