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Jun 8, 2022 - Economy & Business

Mortgage activity hits 22-year low

Nathan Bomey
Data: Mortgage Bankers Association; Chart: Axios Visuals

Americans are continuing to slam the brakes on home borrowing.

Driving the news: Mortgage applications tumbled to a 22-year low, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday based on its weekly Market Composite Index.

  • That figure, which includes new mortgages and refinancing activity, declined 6.5% from a week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Context: The upswing in mortgage rates in 2022 has made it costlier to borrow, while consumers have grown more pessimistic about the economy.

  • "These worsening affordability challenges have been particularly hard on prospective first-time buyers," Joel Kan, MBA’s associated vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement.

Flashback: Freddie Mac's chief economist said last week that the housing market is "normalizing."

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