Mortgage Rates Fall for the First Time in 12 Weeks

Source: CNBC

Mortgage rates slipped and ended the months of successive increases, following the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine drove a run on the safer bond markets.

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to 4.09% from 4.15%.
• Points for loans with a 20% was unchanged at 0.44, with the rate at 83 basis points lower a year ago.
• Refinancing demand increased by 9% last week versus the previous week, but application volume remained half of the comparable week last year.
• Analysts said the latest decline is the first in 12 weeks, as the Russian conflict drove investors out to look for quality and dragged US Treasury yields.
• Mortgage applications increased 9% from the past week but were 7% lower than the same week in the past year, attributed to supply hitting the market.
• Mortgage rates have since jumped by over 25 basis points in two days, as inventors shift from bonds and drive yields higher.

XHB is up 0.91%, while ITB is up 3.15% premarket.