Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey / Fresh Today / CUToday.info

WASHINGTON— Mortgage applications increased 10.8% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 5.

Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 10.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 21% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 15% from the previous week and was 20% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 7% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 17% compared with the previous week and was 4% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage rates were volatile last week as news from the Middle East continues to drive markets,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and chief economist. “While the average rate was up slightly, with the 30-year fixed rate now at 6.60%, there were opportunities where borrowers were seeing somewhat lower rates. Both refinance and purchase applications rebounded coming out of the Memorial Day holiday week, with refinance applications up 15% and purchase applications up 7%.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 40.2% of total applications from 38.0% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.6% of total applications.

FHA Share

The FHA share of total applications increased to 17.4% from 17.0% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 13.4% from 14.4% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5% the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.60% from  6.57%, with points decreased to 0.63 from 0.67 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) 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 $832,750) remained unchanged at 6.66%, with points increasing to 0.54 from 0.35  (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 6.27% from  6.26%, with points increasing to 0.78 from  0.75 (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 increased to 5.99% from 5.93%, with points decreasing to 0.68 from 0.76 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.96% from  5.82%, with points decreasing to 0.75 from 0.88 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.