as payrolls jumped by 431,000 in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% - its lowest level since Feb. 2020. FILE - Newly finished development of homes for sale, built by home builder KB Homes, are pictured in Carlsbad, California, January 4, 2011. REUTERS/Mike BlakeBut the lack of housing inventory, which resulted in an elevated average purchase price, has restrained the market.
Refinancing activity also dropped to 38.8% - a loss of 1.8% from the previous week, and tumbled over 12% from the same period the previous year. One area that saw an increase of activity was the adjustable-rate mortgage share, which rose to 6.8% of total activity. An ARM will provide a lower initial rate, which might explain the increase of activity: homebuyers will gamble that they can refinance at a later date or that rates might remain low at that time.
The MBA survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.