Weekly mortgage demand flattens, as interest rates climb even higher

Mortgage rates rose again last week, throwing even more cold water on demand from both current homeowners and potential homebuyers. Weekly application volume fell 0.1% last week from 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 ($647,200 or less) increased to 7.14% from 7.06%, with points increasing to 0.77 from 0.73 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.

“Mortgage rates edged higher last week following news that the Federal Reserve will continue…