(Bloomberg) -- US mortgage applications to buy a home surged last week to the highest level since early 2023, despite still-elevated borrowing costs.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of home-purchase applications jumped 7.6% to 181.6 in the week ended Nov. 21, data from the group showed Wednesday. The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rate ticked up to a more than one-month high of 6.4%.

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While a sustained surge in purchase activity would certainly be welcome in a housing market that has struggled to gain momentum, the weekly figures tend to be volatile around holiday periods.

MBA’s measure of refinancing, meantime, declined to the lowest level since early September.

The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.

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