US mortgage applications surge in week to 2 October, MBA says

Applications for US home mortgages surged last week, data released on Wednesday showed.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its seasonally adjusted index of application activity, which covers home purchase demand and refinancing demand, soared 25.5% in the week ended 2 October.

The seasonally adjusted sub-index of refinancing applications jumped 24%, while the index of loan requests for home purchases, a key indicator of home sales, rose 27% and is now 49% higher year-on-year.

Meanwhile, fixed 30-year mortgage rates increased 11 basis points from the previous week to a 3.99% average, the lowest level since May 2015.

"The number of applications for purchase and refinance mortgages soared last week due both to renewed rate volatility and as many applications were filed prior to the TILA-RESPA regulatory change," said Lynn Fisher, the MBA's vice president of research and economics.