Homebuyers are flocking to the housing market, pushing mortgage applications up 13% on the year as the recovery gains steam

• Mortgage applications to purchase a home gained 5% last week and were 13% higher than a year ago, according to a Wednesday report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
• The spike in applications signals that homebuyers are still flocking back to the market as it reopens following coronavirus lockdowns.
• The jump in applications was again fueled by low mortgage rates, pent-up demand from earlier in the spring, and states reopening across the country, said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
• Read more on Business Insider.

Homebuyers continue to rush back to the housing market as the US economy reopens from coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdowns.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 5% in the week ending June 5 and are now 13% higher on the year, according to a Wednesday report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In addition, current homeowners have started looking to refinance existing mortgages to take advantage of low rates — the MBA's refinance index increased 11% on the week and is now 80% higher than a year ago. It's the first move higher for the index in nearly two months.

"The recovery in the purchase market continues to gain steam, with the seasonally adjusted index rising to its highest level since January," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, in a statement. "Purchase activity increased for the eighth straight week."

Read more: College dropout Kyle Marcotte became financially free at 21 years old after making just 2 real-estate investments. Here's the strategy he used to accumulate 119 units.

The jump in applications was again fueled by low mortgage rates, pent-up demand from earlier in the spring when the country remained in lockdown, and states reopening across the country, Kan said. At the end of May, all 50 states had relaxed at least some of their coronavirus pandemic restrictions, and continued to move forward with reopening local economies in June.

Mortgage rates have ticked up slightly, but remain near record lows. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 3.38% from 3.37% a week earlier.