Mortgage rates declined to their lowest point in more than 18 months last week, encouraging homebuyers to refinance the amount they have left on their home loans.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.29 percent from 6.43 percent, marking the sixth straight week in declining rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) decreased to 6.56% from 6.73%.

Read Also: Mortgage Applications Fall As Rates Climb Back Above 7%

The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.71% from 5.98%.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 46.7 percent of total applications from 46.4 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4 percent of total applications.

“Mortgage rates declined for the sixth consecutive week, with the 30-year fixed rate decreasing to 6.29 percent, the lowest rate since February 2023,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.

“With rates almost a full percentage point lower than a year ago, refinance applications continue to run much higher than last year’s pace.”

Mortgage applications increased 1.4 percent from one week earlier, according to the MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending Sept. 6, 2024.

“Purchase applications increased over the week and are edging closer to last year’s levels,” Kan said.

“Despite the drop in rates, affordability challenges and other factors such as limited inventory might still be hindering purchase decisions.”

Price Action: Lenders trended downward into Wednesday’s late-morning trading.

• Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. IVR slipped 1.14% to $8.67
• Rocket Companies Inc RKT declined 1.78% to $18.52
• Lendingtree (TREE) fell 1.74% to $50.74

Exchange-traded funds that hold these stocks saw gains and losses on Wednesday.

• Kingsbarn Dividend Opportunity ETF DVDN went up 0.14%
• Global X SuperDividend REIT ETF SRET declined 1.31%
• VanEck Mortgage REIT Income ETF MORT fell 1.45%

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