Mortgage rates move higher after the Fed rate cut, causing loan demand to drop

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate last week, and just as happened the last two times, mortgage rates rose. That caused demand for home loans and refinances to drop.Total mortgage application volume fell 3.8% 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, 806,500 or less, increased to 6.38% from 6.33%, with points increasin ...