Mortgage applications increased 9.6 percent
from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
The Market Composite Index increased 9.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis
from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased nine percent
compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 13 percent from the previous week and was 188 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased five percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased two percent, compared with the previous week and was 15 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage applications increased to their highest level in over a month, as both purchase and refinance activity rose despite another climb in mortgage rates. Positive data on consumer sentiment, and growing optimism surrounding the U.S. and China trade dispute, were behind last week’s rise in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 4.03 percent,” said Joel Kan, the MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “Refinance applications jumped 13 percent to the highest level in five weeks, as conventional, FHA, and VA refinances all posted weekly gains. With rates still in the 4 percent range, we continue to expect to see moderate growth in refinance activity in the final weeks of 2020.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 61.9 percent of total applications from 59.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.9 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.1 percent from 11.8 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.7 percent from 12 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) increased to 4.03 percent from 3.98 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $484,350) increased to 3.98 percent from 3.97 percent, with points decreasing to 0.22 from 0.24 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.85 percent from 3.79 percent, with points increasing to 0.28 from 0.21 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.43 percent from 3.38 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.40 percent from 3.43 percent, with points decreasing to 0.17 from 0.21 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
