Desultory Week for Mortgage Applications

Mortgage activity was mostly flat during the past week, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Both the Market Composite Index and the Purchase Index increased a scant 0.4 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis and increased one percent on an unadjusted basis for the week ending May 6. The Refinance Index increased 0.5 percent from the previous week, but the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 52.8 percent of total applications from 52.9 percent the previous week.

There were mixed results among the government loan programs: the FHA share of total applications decreased to 13 percent from 13.5 percent the week prior, while the VA share of total applications increased to 11.7 percent from 11.5 percent and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.7 percent the week.