John Varano

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates fell again last week, dropping to their lowest level since last November. The decline was seen across all loan categories, except 15-year fixed-rate mortgages which were unchanged from the week before. Michael Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist, told CNBC that low rates were connected to current events. “Last week, mortgage rates dropped to their lowest level since the week of the November 2016 election as investors sought safety given the tense geopolitical environment, especially the concerns with respect to North Korea,” Fratantoni said. Still, despite rates moving lower, mortgage application demand was barely moved. The refinance index increased 2 percent but purchase application demand fell 2 percent, effectively cancelling out the gains. A look at last year's levels, however, shows the number of prospective buyers requesting applications for loans to buy homes is actually 10 percent higher than at the same time last year. The MBA's weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications.