Lack of supply pushing Americans into surprising race to buy homes

The American economy may be heading straight for a severe recession, but you wouldn't know it to look at the number of mortgage applications. They rose again last week by 9 percent, marking the sixth straight week of rising figures and representing a 54 percent recovery since a low point in April. It appears to be enough in the view of prospective home buyers for states to begin opening up for business, as they don't seem to require longer-term signals that the coronavirus pandemic is making a permanent retreat.

Supporting the trend is the strong sales pace in April for new homes, which most observers figured would fall 22 percent. They figured wrong, however as the indicator actually rose by 1 percent. It suggests that buyers are in a rush to enter the market, in a bid to get ahead of other buyers who are competing to purchase dwindling levels of new stock. It's not hurting things, of course, that mortgages are on offer at nearly record low rates. Adding Including refinancing and purchase applications the total mortgage application volume rose 2.7 percent last week.