Mortgage rates hit a new record low of 3.05 percent for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). It’s the lowest rate ever recorded by MBA’s weekly survey, which looks at conforming mortgages valued at $510,400 or less.
Despite the drop in rates, MBA’s market composite index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — was down 4.8 percent from the week prior. The drop was led by the refinance index falling 7 percent week-over-week, although the measure was still up 52 percent from the same week last year.
“Mortgage rates decreased last week, with the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage declining 5 basis points to 3.05 percent — the lowest in MBA’s survey,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement.
“There are indications that refinance rates are not decreasing to the same extent as rates for home purchase loans, and that could explain last week’s decline in refinances,” Kan added. “Many lenders are still operating at full capacity and working through operational challenges, ultimately limiting the number of applications they are able to accept.”
Mortgage purchases decreased 2 percent from the week prior, but were up 22 percent year over year on an adjusted basis.
