According to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, home mortgage application volume increased for the second straight week for the week ending May 14th, 2021. Refinance volume is once again fluctuating to mirror mortgage rates, but over all refinances made up 63.3% of mortgage applications during this past week. Desire to buy a home is still high across the country, but the lack of inventory is remaining a problem for the purchase market. The increasing cost of building materials such as lumber is increasing the average cost to build a single-family home by around $35,000. If this trend continues, the prices of already completed homes will continue to rise also as people are beginning to be priced out of the new home market.
- The FHA share of total mortgage application volume dropped from 9.9% to 9.2% this past week.
- The VA share of total mortgage application volume increased to 12% from 11.7% this past week.
