Glenn McCullom

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Jan. 22.

After last week’s spike, mortgage rates dropped back to near historic lows, as broader worries about the pandemic and the economy came back to the fore for investors.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.9% from one week earlier as rising rates started to affect refinance activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Jan. 15.

Mortgage rates, whose movements until now had not reflected gains in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, rose 14 basis points this week, according to Freddie Mac.

Mortgage applications increased 16.7% from one week earlier to their highest level in 10 months, although rates rose in expectation of additional government pandemic relief, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Jan. 8.

It’s more of the same when it comes to mortgage rates entering 2021, as once again they have dropped to lowest point in the 50-year history of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Mortgage applications decreased 4.2% over the final two weeks of 2020, but the strong demand for home buying throughout most of the year should continue, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage rates rose a basis point this week, ending the year near record lows, according to Freddie Mac.