Mortgage Rates Today Fall to Lowest Since 2022 as Applications Tick Up
Mortgage rates today moved lower, with the average 30-year fixed rate retreating and mortgage applications rising for a second straight week — shifts that pushed refinancing activity notably higher for the week ending Feb. 20.
Mortgage Rates Today: 30-year average and differing measures
Freddie Mac said the average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan fell to 6. 01% for the week ending Feb. 19, down from 6. 09% the week prior. Joel Kan, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s vice president and deputy chief economist, described the 30-year fixed rate as declining to 6. 09% and called that level "its lowest level since September 2022. " The two figures appear in the same reporting but differ on the exact 30-year rate cited.
Applications rise for a second consecutive week
The Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage applications rose 0. 4% from the prior week for the week ending Feb. 20. The Market Composite Index increased 0. 4% on a seasonally adjusted basis and rose 2% on an unadjusted basis compared with the previous week.
Refinances surged; purchase activity mixed
The MBA’s Refinance Index increased 4% from the week before and was 150% higher than the same week one year earlier. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 5% from one week earlier, while the unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% and remained 12% higher than the same week a year ago.
Loan-type shares shifted and ARMs held steady
The refinance share of mortgage activity rose to 58. 6% of total applications from 57. 4% the prior week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage share stayed unchanged at 8. 2%. The Federal Housing Administration share fell to 16. 1% from 18. 4%, Veterans Affairs share climbed to 18. 7% from 16. 5%, and the USDA share held at 0. 4%.
Conforming, jumbo, FHA and ARM contract-rate details
Average contract rates moved as follows for 80% loan-to-value loans: conforming 30-year fixed decreased to 6. 09% from 6. 17% with points down to 0. 53 from 0. 56 and an effective rate that decreased; jumbo 30-year fixed decreased to 6. 20% from 6. 21% with points rising to 0. 42 from 0. 27 and an effective rate that increased; FHA-backed 30-year fixed decreased to 5. 97% from 5. 99% with points unchanged at 0. 65 and an effective rate that decreased. The average contract rate for 15-year fixed mortgages decreased to 5. 48% from 5. 50% with points down to 0. 70 from 0. 73 and an effective rate that decreased. The average contract rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 5. 23% from 5. 29% with points decreasing to 0. 41 from 0. 62; the effective-rate change for 5/1 ARMs is unclear in the provided context.
Investors eye homebuilders as 30-year dips below 6%
Mortgage News Daily’s 30-year fixed rate came in below 6% this week, a move that the reporting said would have investors focusing on homebuilders. A separate roundup ranked homebuilders by SA quant ratings, but the specific names on that list are unclear in the provided context.
Joel Kan said the drop in rates helped push a 5% increase in conventional refinance applications and a 26% increase in VA refinances, and he noted that purchase applications, while down over the week, were 12% higher than a year ago.
Next confirmed items are unclear in the provided context.
