Surging “Mortgage Demand” and “Declining Spending,” Really? Let’s Have a Look at Reality

November 16, 2023

by Wolf Richter Wolf Street

Home buyers “seize a dip in rates” and rush back into the housing market, LOL?

For example, on CNBC this morning, we read: “Mortgage demand climbs to the highest level in five weeks after interest rates move lower. Or on MarketWatch, we read: “U.S. mortgage demand hits five-week high as buyers seize a dip in rates.”

This was based on the weekly applications for mortgages to purchase a home, released this morning by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage applications ticked up a tiny little bit, but that uptick can barely be seen in this three-year plunge of mortgage applications to the lowest levels in the data going back to 1995.