Nov 13, 2019

Enthusiasm may be moving into housing

Open house sign.

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The positive sentiment in the stock market looks to have also gotten into real estate buyers.

What's happening: Mortgage applications and refinances jumped for the week ending Nov. 8, even as mortgage rates rose and increased the total asking price for homes, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows.

By the numbers: An index tracking applications rose 9.6% from a week earlier to its highest level in more than a month and MBA's refinancing index increased 13% from the previous week and 188% from the same week one year ago.

What they're saying: “Last week was a solid week for homebuyers," says Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says in a release accompanying the data.

  • "Low supply and high home prices remain a key characteristic of this fall’s housing market, which is why the largest growth in activity continues to be in loans with higher loan balances.”

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