Mortgage application volume increased for the fifth time in six weeks last week, as the 30-year mortgage decreased again, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday.
The Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — increased 5.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week earlier, according to data from the MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended April 7.
Unadjusted, the index increased 6% from the previous week, the MBA said.
The Refinance Index barely budged, increasing just 0.1% from the previous week. It was still 57% lower than the same week last year.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 8% from a week earlier. Unadjusted, the Purchase Index increased 9% from the previous week but was 31% lower than the same week last year.
30-Year Rate Lowest In 2 Months
“Incoming data last week showed that the job market is beginning to slow, which led to the 30-year fixed rate decreasing to 6.3% — the lowest level in two months,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “Prospective homebuyers this year have been quite sensitive to any drop in mortgage rates, and that played out last week with purchase applications increasing by 8%.”
Refinance application volume was a mixed bag, he said, “with total volume essentially flat, conventional volume down for the week, but VA refinance volume increasing. The level of refinance activity remains almost 60% below last year, as most homeowners are currently locked in at much lower rates.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 27% of total applications from 28.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 12.3% from 12% the week prior. The VA share of total applications jumped to 12.8% from 11% the previous week.
The USDA share of total applications slipped to 0.5% from 0.6% the previous week.
Mortgage rates
Note: The points listed include the origination fee and are for 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. For each loan, the effective rate decreased from the previous week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) dipped to 6.3% from 6.4% the previous week, with points decreasing to 0.55 from 0.59.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $726,200) decreased to 6.26% from 6.36%, with points decreasing to 0.42 from 0.47.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 6.29% from 6.33%, with points decreasing to 0.91 from 0.92.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.78% from 5.97%, with points increasing to 0.57 from 0.54.
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 5.51% from 5.61%, with points decreasing to 0.9 from 1.02.
MBA’s survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
