07:07 AM EST, 11/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Mortgage applications rose by 0.5% in the week ended Nov. 8 after a 10.8% decrease in the prior week despite a further increase in mortgage rates, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.

Applications for refinancing loans fell by 2% to their lowest level since May, while new purchase applications rose by a seasonally adjusted 2%.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages with loan balances of $766,550 or less rose to 6.86% from 6.81% in the previous week, the highest level since July.

"Mortgage rates continued to increase last week, driven by higher Treasury yields as financial markets digested the likely impacts of a Trump presidency," said Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist. "The Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut was already anticipated and did little to move the market."