Purchase Applications Rise, Refinance Falls in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey fell for third straight week ending September 29, 2017. The Market Composite Index decreased by 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 1 percent compared to the previous week.

The Refinance Index declined by 2% from the previous week and the refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 50.1% of total applications from 50.8% the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 1% this week, while the unadjusted Purchase Index gained by 1%. It was 5% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Rates moved higher over the course of last week, at least partially due to signs of stronger economic growth,” said MBA Associate Vice President for Industry Surveys and Forecasting Joel Kan. “Four of the five mortgage rates that we track increased, with our 30-year fixed rate increasing one basis point over the week. Refinance application activity decreased almost 2 percent with this upward trend in rates.”

Mr. Kan also said the purchase market has continued to grow on a year-over-year basis, but picked up slightly from a slower pace the previous week. ”

We continue to closely track application volume as an indicator of the impact of the recent hurricanes,” he said. “Overall mortgage application activity in Texas returned closer to national patterns, while Florida continued to see some bounce back after the hurricanes.”

MBA reported the FHA share of total applications increased to 10.0 percent from 9.6 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications remained unchanged at 10.0 percent from the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.8 percent from 0.7 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) increased to 4.12 percent from 4.11 percent, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.40 (including origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio 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 $424,100) increased to 4.09 percent from 4.06 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.26 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by FHA increased to 3.99 percent from 3.98 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.50 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.42 percent from 3.38 percent, with points decreasing to 0.39 from 0.40 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages decreased to 3.30 percent from 3.38 percent, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.45 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The ARM share of activity decreased to 6.0% of total applications.

The MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey covers more than 75% of all U.S. retail and consumer direct residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.