Mortgage applications

A spike in government-sponsored applications helped lead indexes to their largest gains in several weeks.

Average loan size also continues to increase, as demand remains high and costs in homebuilding materials rise this year.

But the percentage of weekly applications in that category was closer to 60%, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

Mortgage rates that are rising in tandem with a recovering economy dampened borrower activity, even with prime homebuying season underway.

While the economic recovery and stimulus checks drove upward movement in purchases, it wasn’t enough to offset tumbling refinance activity.

While financing costs are still low enough to offset sticker-shock from rising home prices, a slight increase in the average 30-year conforming rate weighed on borrowers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.9% from one week earlier as rising rates started to affect refinance activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

When the Uniform Residential Loan Application transition deadline hits on March 1, a data set within Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter Program, which many lenders have used for a host of functions, will no longer be supported and unprepared lenders could later experience disruption.

Mortgage rates yet again have dropped to a record low, even as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury flirts with breaking back above the 1% mark, according to Freddie Mac.

Mortgage applications slipped 0.3% from one week earlier, as refinance volume, particularly for Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans, shrank significantly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.