KEY POINTS
  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 5.37% from 5.20%, the highest rate since 2009.
  • The adjustable-rate mortgage share of applications last week was over 9% by loan count and 17% based on dollar volume. At 9%, the ARM share was double what it was three months ago.
  • Applications to refinance a home loan fell 9% for the week and were 71% lower than the same week one year ago

Mortgage rates moved even higher last week, crashing refinance demand and prompting potential homebuyers to apply for riskier loan products which offer lower rates.

Total mortgage application volume fell 8.3% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Demand is now half of what it was a year ago.