Mortgage Apps Down Again in MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications fell for the second consecutive week, with refinancings dropping and purchase applications running flat, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning in its Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending Apr. 29.

The Market Composite Index decreased by 3.4 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 52.9 percent of total applications from 54.4 percent the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 0.1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased by 1 percent compared to the previous week and was 13 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

“Rates were running closer to one-month highs in the first half of last week and even as rates fell following the Federal Open Market Committee statement release midweek, mortgage rates ended the week higher compared to the previous week,” said MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni. “No one had anticipated that the Fed would raise rates at last week’s meeting. But, MBA and others had expected somewhat more of a signal that they would be increasing rates again in June. Odds of a June have decreased a bit, but we expect that is still the most likely outcome.”

The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.5 percent from 12.3 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.5 percent from 12.2 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.7 percent 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 3.87 percent from 3.85 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (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 3.79 percent from 3.78 percent, with points increasing to 0.31 from 0.30 (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 3.69 percent from 3.66 percent, with points increasing to 0.33 from 0.26 (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 3.13 percent from 3.09 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.37 (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 2.91 percent from 3.02 percent, with points increasing to 0.30 from 0.14 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The ARM share of activity increased to 5.3 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.