Mortgage demand increases again, but interest rates are rising

Mortgage demand has increased for three straight weeks now, as interest rates dropped in response to the recent bank failures.

But rates are rising again, and that could put a damper on application volume.

Total mortgage application volume rose 3% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 6.48% from 6.71%, with points decreasing to 0.66 from 0.79 (including the origination fee) for…