Mortgage Applications Up 5.8 Percent

Inquiries into home loans were on the rise again, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Feb. 24.

 

The Market Composite Index increased 5.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, although the index dropped by three percent on an unadjusted basis. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was up seven percent, but the unadjusted index dipped by one percent compared with the previous week and was percent percent lower than the same week one year ago, which did not include the Presidents’ Day holiday. The Refinance Index increased five percent from the previous week to its highest level since December 2016, but the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 45.1 percent of total applications, its lowest level since November 2008, from 46.2 percent the previous week.

 

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 12.3 percent from 11.6 percent the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 11.7 percent from 12.1 percent the week prior and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.9 percent.