Mortgage applications nudge upward in latest survey

Refinances continue to take the largest share of applications

Mortgage applications nudge upward in latest survey
The week ending July 21 saw more mortgage applications than a week ago, according to a survey by Mortgage Bankers Association.

The survey’s Market Composite Index grew 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week ago. The increase was 1% on an unadjusted basis. The Refinance Index saw a 3% gain from the previous week, while the Purchase Index fell 2%, on both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted bases. The seasonally adjusted figure is the lowest level since May, while the unadjusted figure represents an 8% growth from the same week a year ago.

Of all mortgage activity, refinances made up 46% of total applications, up from 44.7% a week ago. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) comprised 6.8% of all applications, an improvement from last week.
FHA applications were 10.2% of the total, down from last week’s 10.7%. The share of VA applications also fell to 10.5% from 10.7%, but USDA applications made up 0.8% of all applications, up from 0.7% a week ago.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, with jumbo loan balances and those backed by the FHA all decreased from last week. Rates for those with conforming loan balance dropped to 4.17% from 4.22% as points rose to 0.40 from 0.31, including the origination fee, for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.

Those with jumbo loan balances saw rates fall to 4.06% from 4.18% and points also dropped to 0.24 from 0.30, including the origination fee, for 80% LTV loans. The FHA-backed mortgages saw rates fall to 4.05% from 4.10%, with points rising to 0.44 from 0.30, including the origination fee, for 80% LTV loans.

On average, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages saw contract interest rates fall to 3.45% from 3.48%, as points rose to 0.45 from 0.39, including the origination fee, for 80% LTV loans. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs fell to 3.29% from 3.32%, with points rising to 0.26 from 0.21, including the origination fee, for 80% LTV loans.

The effective rate for all mortgage types decreased from last week.


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