Refinancing activity in the U.S. housing market plummeted last week as mortgage rates hit their highest level in nine months, new industry data released on May 27 show.
Refinancing decreased by 18 percent for the week ending May 22 and is up by 19 percent from the same time a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“Many borrowers understandably backed away from refinancing last week,” Joel Kan, the firm’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.
The decline was largely driven by the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rising by 30 basis points over the past five weeks to 6.65 percent—the highest level since August 2025….