by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Prospects of 7% Mortgages Return. Surge in activity in January from very low levels has fizzled.
Here we go again. After jumping nearly 30% in January on lower mortgage rates and the beginning of the spring selling season, applications for mortgages to purchase a home plunged to the lowest level since 1995.
Compared to a year ago, purchase mortgage applications plunged by 41%. Compared to two years ago, they plunged by 44%. This is from the Mortgage Bankers Association today.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home are a forward-looking indicator of where home sales volume will be. January had given the housing industry a lot of hope because mortgage rates had dropped on intense Fed-pivot mongering.