Well, it’s a slower news day leading into the holiday, but perfect timing for an update on the housing market. And it’s some good news for Texas home buyers AND sellers! Why? Because mortgage applications in Texas are on the rise again. It's not a mind-blowing surge, but it's definitely a good sign of life.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) just shared some interesting numbers about mortgage applications. Their Market Composite Index, which measures application volume, went up by 3.0 percent compared to the previous week. That's a good sign, right?
But here's the catch:
If we remove the seasonal adjustments, the numbers actually went down by 8.0 percent from the previous week. Kind of a downer, but let's focus on the positive side of things.
The numbers, when adjusted for the summer season, showed some strength, with a 3.0 percent increase for three weeks in a row. However, despite these consistent gains, it's still 21.0 percent lower compared to the same time last year. On the other hand, refinances also joined the party with a 3.0 percent increase from the previous week. But wait, those stats are also still a whopping 32.0 percent lower than the same time last year.
Unfortunately, when we strip away the fancy adjustments, both the number of applications for purchases and refinances took an 8.0 percent hit. Not the best news, but hey, at least there's some movement happening in the Texas mortgage world. Let's keep our fingers crossed for even more positive news later this summer!