According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, buyer demand continues to keep the number of mortgage applications rising on a regular basis.

As more and more states are opening up for business, the housing sector appears to be gaining some momentum, reflecting somewhat of a normal home-buying spring.

The number of applications that have come in to purchase a home have climbed by 11% from last week, representing the fourth straight week of increases.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect this market, which on a year-to-year basis is still 10% lower than 2019.

In addition, social distancing appears to be impacting the number of purchases being recorded, which last week was down 19% on a year-over-year basis.

The recovery, no doubt, is real with respect to the resumption of buying activity, and home prices have yet to reflect a dip, but this is clearly not the kind of spring that had been originally projected. The shortage of inventory continues to sustain the average and median prices for homes.

It is believed that the low mortgage rate environment is continuing to stimulate a great deal of this buying surge.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the number of applications to refinance home loans have been consistently falling for the last four weeks, and last week it dropped another 3%.

The refinance market is still historically much higher this year than back in 2019, with the number of refinance applications rocketing by over 200% than was recorded back in 2019.

Presently, the refinance share of mortgage applications has decreased from 70% for the prior week to 67% of total applications this week.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

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