Steady interest rates in the last week saw mortgage rates rising only slightly according to data from the weekly mortgage application survey by the MBA. Data from the market composite index, which is a measure of mortgage loan applications volume, indicated that mortgage applications increased 0.3 percent from the earlier week. The refinance index increased 2 percent from the previous week and the purchase index decreased 1 percent from the week earlier.
The share of refinance mortgage activity also remained flat at 41.8 percent of total applications, while the adjustable-rate mortgage share of applications increased to 7.3 percent of total applications, its highest level since June 2017.
For government loans, applications for FHA loans decreased marginally from 10.3 percent last week to 10.1 percent this week. The VA share of total applications decreased from 10.7 percent to 9.9 percent while the USDA share of total applications increased to 0.9 percent from 0.8 percent last week.
Other highlights from the survey are as follows:
- The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $453,100 or less increased to 4.65 percent, its highest level since January 2014, from 4.64 percent, with points decreasing to 0.58 from 0.63 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $453,100) decreased to 4.56 percent from 4.57 percent, with points increasing to 0.52 from 0.51 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 the FHA remained unchanged from the week prior at 4.68 percent, with points increasing to 0.79 from 0.75 for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.11 percent, its highest level since April 2011, from 4.07 percent, with points increasing to 0.64 from 0.59 for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.