By Alex Roha | HousingWire
A growing chorus of mortgage industry observers believe the final week of February might have been the last hurrah for sub-3% mortgage rates. And the proof is in the refi pudding.
With mortgage rates making their ascension, many late-to-the-game homeowners hopped on the chance to refinance their home loans and pushed refi volume to 68% of all closed loans in February, according to the latest originations report from ICE Mortgage Technology. That’s the highest refi volume the industry has seen in over a year, with conventional refi volume even hiking all the way up to 75% of closed loans.
Rates have been over 3.0% for much of the month of March, and reached a benchmark rate of 3.32% for the 30-year mortgage on Friday. While a 3% rate is still hovering near historic lows, anywhere from an eighth to a quarter percent turn in mortgage rates, up or down, can cause a borrower to wait out the market.
