Refinance Apps Down Again in MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications continued to fall, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 11.
The Market Composite Index decreased by 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 3 percent compared to the previous week.
The Refinance Index decreased by 6 percent from the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to its lowest level since August, 55.0 percent of total applications, from 56.7 percent the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 0.3 percent to its highest level since January. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased by 1 percent compared to the previous week and was 33 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 11.7 percent from 12.0 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.3 percent from 12.6 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.8 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.94 percent from 3.89 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.38 (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 $417,000) increased to 3.86 percent from 3.81 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.31 (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 3.77 percent from 3.71 percent, with points decreasing to 0.33 from 0.37 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.22 percent from 3.14 percent, with points decreasing to 0.39 from 0.41 (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 increased to 3.23 percent from 3.20 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.32 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The ARM share of activity decreased to 4.9 percent of total applications.
The survey covers more than 75 percent 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.
