Purchase Loan Demand Dips Before Christmas

Total U.S. mortgage application volume rose just 0.8% for the week, led by 4% increase in refinance requests and tempered by a 5% drop in home purchase applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Even though buyers may be holding off for the Christmas holiday, home purchase demand is still up 26% compared with a year ago, while ultra-low interest rates have helped push refinance applications 124% higher than in 2019. Refinance requests made up 74.8% of all applications this week.