Mortgage apps drop heading into Thanksgiving

Mortgage applications decreased last week as the nation headed into Thanksgiving. Applications dropped 4.3% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 21, 2014.  The previous week’s results had included an adjustment for the Veterans Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index decreased 4% from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5%  from one week earlier.  The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1% compared with the previous week and was 10% lower than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 63% of total applications from 61% the previous week.  The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 9.4%  this week from 9.9% last week.  The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.3% this week from 11.5% last week.  The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8% this week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.15% from 4.18%, with points increasing to 0.25 from  0.24 (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 $417,000) remained unchanged at 4.1% with points increasing to 0.25 from 0.16 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.9% from 3.85%, with points decreasing to 0.13 from 0.18 (including the origination fee) for 80%  LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.35% from 3.38%, with points decreasing to 0.25 from 0.27 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.06% from 3.09%, with points increasing to 0.41 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.  The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.