Mortgage Applications Up 3rd Week in MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications increased for the third straight week as key interest rates held steady, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 9.
The week’s results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.
The Market Composite Index increased by 4.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 17 percent compared to the previous week.
The Refinance Index increased 2 percent from the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 62.9 percent of total applications from 64.0 percent the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 9 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased by 15 percent compared to the previous week and was 8 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“Last week, average mortgage interest rates moved down slightly despite a rally in 10-year US Treasury yields that came late in the week,” said MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher. “These still-low rates edged refinances higher on a holiday-adjusted basis.”
The purchase market remains supported by an improving U.S. labor market, Fisher noted. “Newly released data from the U.S. Census this week indicate that the median income increased by 5.2 percent last year, the highest rate of increase since 2007. Other recent but less comprehensive measures show wage growth continuing to strengthen in 2016.”
MBA said the FHA share of total applications increased to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.0 percent from 11.9 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.7 percent from 0.6 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.67 percent from 3.68 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.37 (including origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.64 percent from 3.66 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.30 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by FHA decreased to 3.50 percent from 3.52 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 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 increased to 2.97 percent from 2.96 percent, with points unchanged at 0.34 (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 remained unchanged at 2.87 percent, with points increasing to 0.37 from 0.30 (including origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The ARM share of activity increased to 4.6 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.
