Refinancing, FHA applications increased last week, MBA says

Mortgage rates rose slightly last week, but refinancing demand continued to drive a modest uptick in overall applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up 4 basis points last week to 6.88%, the MBA said. This was a bounce back from the week before when the MBA survey recorded rates dropping nine basis points week-over-week.

“The combination of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, current economic conditions, and last week’s FOMC meeting resulted in slightly lower Treasury rates on average. However, mortgage rates still edged higher but remained in the same narrow range,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, in a press release.

Mortgage rates have fluctuated within a 20 basis point…