Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
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Mortgage applications decreased 0.6% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 29, 2024.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.1% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 2% from the previous week and was 5% lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.1% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1% compared with the previous week and was 13% lower than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates moved lower last week, but that did little to ignite overall mortgage application activity. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined slightly to 6.91%, while the 15-year fixed rate decreased to its lowest level in two months at 6.35%,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Elevated mortgage rates continued to weigh down on home buying. Purchase applications were unchanged overall, although FHA purchases did pick up slightly over the week. Refinance applications decreased to fall 5% below last year’s pace.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 30.3% of total applications from 30.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 7.0% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 11.7% from 12.0% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.1% from 12.0% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.5% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.91% from 6.93%, with points decreasing to 0.59 from 0.60 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) 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 $766,550) decreased to 7.06% from 7.14%, with points increasing to 0.57 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 6.74% from 6.75%, with points decreasing to 0.90 from 0.97 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.35% from 6.46%, with points decreasing to 0.56 from 0.75 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 6.37% from 6.27%, with points increasing to 0.68 from 0.64 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
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The survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
