Purchase mortgage application demand saw the second highest weekly increase over the last year and thanks to a spike in refinancing activity.

The U.S. Commerce Department is reporting sales of new U.S. homes climbed 4.9 percent in February. Those rising numbers are being driven by a decline in mortgage interest rates.

Overall mortgage demand rose to the highest level since the fall of 2016. The benefits of the decline in mortgage rates that we?ve seen this year will continue to unfold over the next few months due to the lag from changes in mortgage interest rates to market sentiment and ultimately home sales.