According to Svmuu, U.S. mortgage rates rose to near two-month highs last week, dragging down home purchase activity. Data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed that for the week ending May 15, the contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased by 10 basis points to 6.56%, slightly below the 6.57% recorded at the end of March.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war at the end of February, the rate has accumulated an increase of nearly half a percentage point. The home purchase loan application index fell 4.1%, marking its largest drop since the week ending March 20. The MBA refinance index also edged lower. (Jin Shi)