Mortgage interest rates are decidedly lower than a year ago, and home shoppers are buying, but most are wealthier consumers buying pricier homes.
Mortgage interest rates are now decidedly lower than a year ago, and home shoppers are buying in, but most are wealthier consumers purchasing more expensive homes.
Falling rates were likely behind a sizable jump in loan applications to purchase a home. They rose 4 percent for the week and were 2 percent higher than a year ago. Buyers last year were up against high home prices and rising rates, pushing affordability down to the lowest level in a decade. That, combined with a severe scarcity of entry-level homes for sale, put the housing market in a deep freeze.
The average loan size jumped to a record $326,000, well above the nation's median home value, which the National Association of Realtors said stood at $247,500 in January.
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