- US home purchase applications, measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index, dropped 2.1% this week, reaching the lowest level since 1995.
- Rates remain at 22-year highs, hovering just above 7%, making homeownership less affordable and driving housing affordability to its worst point in decades.
- Low mortgage rates from the pandemic era are preventing some homeowners from selling, reducing inventory, and increasing home prices.
Sources: Helios Quantitative Research, Bloomberg, Mortgage Bankers Association, Freddie Mac