Mortgage applications

The estimated rate of annual sales also dropped in January to its slowest pace since July.

Credit availability also tightened in January, contributing to early 2022’s lending slowdown, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Steadily climbing rates have contributed to a 40% decline in loan activity from one year ago.

But refinances came in 50% below levels from a year ago, with rate-and-term activity falling by over 40% in the third quarter of last year, according to TransUnion.

And a recent slowdown in government-backed loan issuance is pushing average purchase amounts to another record high.

But a surge in purchases led overall mortgage volumes to a weekly gain and pushed average loan size to a new record.

Increasing rates contributed to a sluggish pace for refinances, but the purchase market showed sustained strength.

Refinances also decreased, with rising rates contributing to the slowdown.

While the overall number of applications dropped last week, average mortgage sizes shot up across all categories.

Although seasonal slowing and limited inventory have temporarily reduced prospective financing, the number sales in the sector hit nearly 1 million in November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.