Weekly Mortgage Applications in a Mild Decline

The Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Feb. 17 showed the housing market with a case of the mid-winter blahs.

 

The Market Composite Index dropped two percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, although the unadjusted index was up one percent. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased by three percent to its lowest level since November 2016, but the unadjusted index increased two percent compared with the previous week and was 10 percent higher than the same week one year ago. And the Refinance Index dipped by one from the previous week to the lowest level since last month, while the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 46.2 percent of total applications, the lowest level since November 2008, from 46.9 percent the previous week.

 

Among the federal home loan programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 11.6 percent from 11.9 percent the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 12.1 percent from 11.8 percent and the USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.9 percent from one percent.