Refinance

Conditions have improved for the first time since November.

Rates are forecasted to remain at the current low levels for the rest of 2020, driving steady refinance volume.

Mortgage applications increased 4.1% from one week earlier as consumers continued to pursue both purchases and refinancings even as conforming rates rose from their record lows, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will extend the same GSE benchmarks of the past three years into 2021.

Strong growth in refinance volume following several weeks of so-so activity drove a 5.1% week-to-week increase in mortgage applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

However, those who aren't current bank customers need to have $1 million in a qualifying account.

Even as interest rates remained at record-low levels, mortgage application activity for both purchases and refinancings declined compared to one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Purchase mortgage application volume was at its most in over a decade as consumer confidence continued to improve in the aftermath of the coronavirus shutdown, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The expected rise in refinance volume overrides pessimism about purchase activity for their businesses.

Mortgage applications increased 2.7% from one week earlier, as purchase volume is now outpacing the prior year's activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.