US mortgage rates fell last week to a one-month low, spurring home-purchase activity.
The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped 8 basis points to 6.32% in the week ended Nov. 28, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. The rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage declined to 5.4%, the lowest since May 2023.
READ MORE:
The group's gauge of home-purchase applications climbed 2.5% to the highest level since early 2023. While the weekly figures tend to be volatile around holidays, a sustained pickup in purchase activity would point to steady underlying demand for the affordability-challenged housing market.
MBA's measure of refinancing, meantime, fell for a fifth straight week — the longest stretch of declines in a year.
The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.
