Mortgage interest rates just hit a level not seen since the year 2000. As a result, mortgage demand is now sitting near a 27-year low.
Total mortgage application volume fell 1.3% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 25.5% lower than the same week one year ago.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) increased to 7.41%, from 7.31%, with points decreasing to 0.71 from 0.72 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. The rate was 6.52% one year ago.
The 30-year fixed jumbo mortgage rate increased to 7.34%, the highest rate in the history of the MBA’s jumbo rate series dating back to 2011.
The higher interest rates also discourages investors from buying houses too. Not because they don’t have the money to just pay cash for houses as investments, but because a high interest rate means there are MUCH SAFER investments that offer good returns than buying someone’s sketchy house in an uncertain housing market with disproportionately rising rent rates and are raising questions with lawmakers about rent stabilization.
Those investors can simply park their money in a bank and get decent nearly risk free returns on their money with zero work.
A lot of institutional money would much rather buy a mortgage security than actual property. However the costs of servicing basically killed any gains when rates were in the 3s. It’s going to take a few more years, but many companies will likely start to reduce their real estate holdings as they get 3 and 5 year ROI numbers that are equal or less than mortgage securities.