Mortgage applications are at their lowest level in nearly 30 years

SALT LAKE CITY — Applications for original mortgages dropped 6.7% last week, while the number of people looking to refinance their homes dropped by 9.9%. That’s the lowest refinancing level since 1995.

That’s according to the Mortgage Bankers Association which released the new data for the week ending  October 13. 

The news comes at the same time interest rates on the most popular home loan rose for the sixth straight week.

The lending giant, Freddie Mac, shows the 30-year fixed interest mortgage rate is closing in on 8%. That rate rose to 7.63% today, and it’s the highest for that rate since November 2000.

Economists from the National Association of Realtors said they expect fewer and fewer people to apply for mortgages as they have less money to pay for housing due to rising prices on everyday goods, like groceries and gas.

With many new homebuyers unable to to afford mortgage payments, and those already in homes with lower interest rates who don’t want to sell, we are in the slowest housing sales rate since 2010.

Other reading:

• Mortgage rates hitting a 20-year high could snowball Utah’s housing crisis
• Supply and demand: housing market update
• Utah housing still unaffordable for many despite slowing market

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