Mortgage Loan Applications in Valentine’s Week Drop

Feb 19, 2020

Photo credit: Getty Images/Sundaemorning

There was relatively little love for the mortgage loan application process for the week ending Feb. 14, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index fell 6.4 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from one week earlier, while the unadjusted index was five percent lover. The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index decreased three percent from one week earlier, but the unadjusted index inched by two percent and was also 10 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index decreased eight percent from the previous week–although it was also 165 percent higher than the same week one year ago–and the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 63.2 percent of total applications from 65.5 percent the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent the week prior, while the VA share of total applications increased to 12.1 percent from 10.1 percent and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4 percent.

MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan observed, “The 30-year fixed mortgage increased five basis points to 3.77 percent as a result, causing refinance applications–driven by a 11 percent drop in applications for conventional refinances–to fall. Even with an eight percent decline, the refinance index was still at its third highest reading so far this year. Government refinance activity, which tends to lag movements in the conventional market, bucked the overall trend, as VA loan refinances jumped 23 percent.”

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Phil Hall

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Feb 19, 2020

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