A Jump in Mortgage Applications

On Wednesday the MBA released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 13, finding that mortgage applications increased 3.6 percent week over week (after adjusting for Columbus Day). Unadjusted, it decreased 7 percent, week-over-week.

Let’s take a look at how the rest of the numbers stacked up . . .

• The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 4 percent.
• The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 9 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
• The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 48.6 percent of total applications from 49.0 percent the previous week.
• The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.1 percent of total applications.

In terms of FHA loans, total FHA applications increased to 10.4 percent, a negligible week-over-week increase from 10.3 The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.5 percent from 10.6 percent the week prior, while the USDA share of total applications increased to 0.8 percent from 0.7 percent the week prior.

A look at 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages:

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) decreased to 4.14 percent from 4.16 percent.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) increased to 4.13 percent from 4.11 percent.
• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 4.00 percent from the week prior.
• The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.45 percent from 3.44 percent.

Methodology:

The survey covers more than 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. Respondents include mortgage banks, commercial banks, and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.