Applications Surge in MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications jumped by nearly 10 percent from one week earlier as key interest rates fell to 10-month lows, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 8.
The week’s results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.
The Market Composite Index increased by 9.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 13 percent compared to the previous week.
The Refinance Index increased by 9 percent from the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 51.0 percent of total applications from 50.9 percent the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 11 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased by 13 percent compared to the previous week and was 7 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 9.9 percent from 9.6 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.3 percent from 9.7 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from the week prior at 0.7 percent.
“To illustrate the impact of the two major hurricanes, over the past two weeks, mortgage applications for the state of Texas ran about 25 percent lower than the state’s weekly average for the year to date, reflecting the impact of Hurricane Harvey,” said MBA Associate Vice President for Industry Surveys and Forecasting Joel Kan. “Additionally, in the most recent week we saw mortgage applications in Florida fall 48 percent lower than its 2017 weekly average, as many residents evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. In comparison, the level of applications for the nation last week was only 12 percent lower than its 2017 average.”
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) decreased to 4.03 percent from 4.06 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.38 (including origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
“Rates have decreased almost 20 basis points since mid-July,” Kan said.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) increased to 4.00 percent from 3.96 percent, with points increasing to 0.24 from 0.20 (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 decreased to 3.94 percent from 3.98 percent, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.35 (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 decreased to 3.30 percent from 3.34 percent, with points increasing to 0.39 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 3.17 percent from 3.14 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.31 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The ARM share of activity decreased to 6.7 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.
