Mortgage applications fell 13.5 percent from last week, and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate rose from 4.51 percent to 4.57 percent this week, according to HousingWire. Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports the Refinance Index fell 20 percent from the previous week, and 71 percent from the week of May 3. Noting refinance applications are the first to drop when mortgage rates rise, Trulia‘s Chief Economist Jed Kolko says, “Recent history shows that spiking mortgage rates take a big chomp out of refinancing immediately and smaller nibbles out of sales three months later. Longer term, the impact of rising rates is typically offset by stronger economic growth.” The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says pending home sales fell 1.3 percent in July, and that is partly seasonal, but levels are still high. As MHProNews has learned, this is the bottom line: Over the last 15 years, a rise in mortgage rates correlated with an improved economy.
