Mortgage Applications Up Again

More people were filling out mortgage applications, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ending May 3.

 

The Market Composite Index increased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, while the unadjusted index was up by three percent. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased four percent and the unadjusted index rose by five percent—the latter was also five percent higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index inched up by one percent from the previous week, but the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.9 percent of total applications from 38.8 percent the previous week.

 

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications remained unchanged from 9.5 percent the week prior as the VA share of total applications increased to 11.1 percent from 10.9 percent and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.6 percent.

 

“We saw a good week for the spring homebuying season, as a five percent increase in purchase applications—both weekly and year-over-year—drove the results,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Average loan amounts also stayed elevated, with government purchase applications rising to the highest in the survey. Even with slower price appreciation in higher-priced markets, home prices are still rising enough to push average loan sizes higher. With purchase activity increasing and mortgage rate movements mostly unchanged, the refinance share of applications were at their lowest level since last November.”

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