Weekly applications to buy a home jump 12%, showing signs of consumer confidence

• The seasonally adjusted purchase index jumped 12% from one week earlier, according to data for the survey ending April 24 and released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
• "The ten largest states had increases in purchase activity, which is potentially a sign of the start of an upturn in the pandemic-delayed spring homebuying season," said Joel Kan of the MBA.
• Mortgage rates also fell to another record low in the MBA's survey, as the 30-year fixed rate decreased to 3.43%.
• Read more on Business Insider.

Weekly applications to purchase a home are on the rise, still recovering from a five-year year low hit during the coronavirus pandemic.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index jumped 12% from one week earlier, according to data for the survey ending April 24 and released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage loan application volume fell 3.3% in the week, and the refinance index also fell 7%.

The rosier survey data comes after a few weeks of falling applications, even as mortgage rates remain low, as the coronavirus pandemic and state lockdowns hindered consumers' ability to buy a home. In addition, eroded consumer sentiment may have put some homebuyer's plans on pause.

The latest weekly survey, however, shows that homebuyers may simply be delayed by the coronavirus crisis.

"The ten largest states had increases in purchase activity, which is potentially a sign of the start of an upturn in the pandemic-delayed spring homebuying season, as coronavirus lockdown restrictions slowly ease in various markets," said Joel Kan, the MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, in a Wednesday statement.

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California and Washington both continue to show increases in purchase activity, and New York saw a significant gain after declines in five of the last six weeks, he added.

Also fueling applications is that mortgage rates fell to another record low in the MBA's survey, as the 30-year fixed rate decreased to 3.43%.

"However, refinance activity declined 7%, as rates for refinances likely remained higher than those for purchase loans," said Kan. "Lenders are still working through pipelines at capacity, and observed changes in credit availability for refinance loans have also in turn impacted rates."

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