A modest uptick in purchase mortgage applications during the week ended April 24 was insufficient to offset a sizable drop in refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that its seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of overall mortgage application volume, which had risen by 2.3 percent the previous week, fell back by the same percentage and was down by 2.0 percent on an unadjusted basis compared to the previous week.
The Refinance Index dropped by 4 percent from its level during the week ended April 17. The refinance share of mortgage activity was at 55 percent down from 56 percent the previous week and its lowest level since last September.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was unchanged week-over-week and the unadjusted Purchase Index was up 1 percent. The latter index, however, was 21 percent higher than during the same week in 2014. The average loan size for purchase applications rose to a survey high of $297,000.
Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed
Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed
The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.7 percent from 13.6 percent the previous week and the VA share rose from 11.0 percent to 11.3 percent. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent.
The contract interest rate and effective rate increased for all fixed-rate mortgage products. The average contract rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) with conforming balances of $417,000 increased 2 basis points to 3.85 percent and points increased to 0.35 from 0.32.
Thirty-year FRM with jumbo loan balances over $417,000 posted an average rate of 3.82 percent with 0.31 point. The previous week the average rate was 3.83 percent with 0.22 point.
The rate for 30-year FRM backed by the FHA increased to 3.66 percent from 3.65 percent. Points increased to 0.16 from 0.12
Interest rates for 15-year FRM averaged 3.14 percent with 0.31 point. A week earlier the rate was 3.11 percent with 0.24 point
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) decreased to 2.88 percent from 2.89 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.29. This was the sole product for which the effective rate decreased during the week. ARM applications took a 5.7 percent share of mortgage applications compared to 5.6 percent the previous week.
MBA's Weekly Mortgage Application Survey has been conducted since 1990. The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100 and information on interest rates are based on loans with an 80 percent loan to value ratio. Points include the origination fee.
