Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. rose sharply last week, as borrowers returned to the market before interest rates start moving higher, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by a seasonally adjusted 7.3% in the week ending December 18 to 450.0. That follows a decline of 1.1% to 419.4 in the preceding week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched up to 4.16%, holding close to the highest level since July.
"Borrowers may have been spurred to act by the potential for future rate increases from the Fed, which are more likely to be reflected in higher mortgage rates over time," said Mike Fratantoni, the association's chief economist.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.