The volume of mortgage applications in the US fell by 8.5% from the previous week in the period ending January 23rd, trimming the combined 47% surge since the start of the year, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The pullback was aligned with a fresh increase in benchmark mortgage rates, which rose to a three-week high on a bounce for longer maturity Treasury yields, while markets continued to assess how the Freddie Mac and the Fannie Mae would comply with President’s Trump order to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities. Applications for contracts to refinance a mortgage, which are sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, fell by 16% from the previous week. Meanwhile, applications for a mortgage to purchase a new home were loosely flat.
