Mortgage Applications Decrease 0.6% From Week Prior

Mortgage applications decreased 0.6 % for the week ending March 29 from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. 

The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.6% on a seasonally-adjusted basis from the week prior, and .1% on an unadjusted basis.

The Refinance Index decreased 2% and was 5% lower year-over-year.

The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.1% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1% over the week prior and was 13% lower YOY.

“Mortgage rates moved lower last week, but that did little to ignite overall mortgage application activity,” MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan said. “The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined slightly to 6.91 percent, while the 15-year fixed rate decreased to its lowest level in two months at 6.35 percent. Elevated mortgage rates continued to weigh down on home buying. Purchase applications were unchanged overall, although FHA purchases did pick up slightly over the week. Refinance applications decreased to fall five percent below last year’s pace.”

The FHA share of total applications decreased slightly week over week to 11.7%, while the VA and USDA shares were basically unchanged.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.91% from 6.93%, with points decreasing to 0.59 from 0.60 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. 

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) decreased to 7.06% from 7.14%, with points increasing to 0.57 from 0.38 for 80% LTV loans.