Weekly Mortgage Application Volume Up Nearly 4%

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 21, mortgage applications increased an overall 3.7% from a week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 2% from the previous week and was 51% lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 6% compared with the previous week and was 28% lower than the same week one year ago.

“Both conventional and government home purchase applications increased last week. However, activity was still nearly 28% below last year’s pace, as high mortgage rates and low supply have slowed the market this year, even as home-price growth has decelerated in many markets across the country,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist. “Refinance applications also increased last week but remained at half of last year’s levels. Although incoming data points to a slowdown in the U.S. economy, markets continue to expect that the Fed will raise short-term rates at its next meeting, which have pushed Treasury yields somewhat higher. As a result of the higher yields, mortgage rates increased for the second straight week to their highest level in over a month, with the 30-year fixed rate now at 6.55%.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 26.8% of total applications from 27.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.7% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 12.6% from 12.7 % the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.2% from 11.7% 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 ($726,200 or less) increased to 6.55% from 6.43%, with points remaining at 0.63 (including the origination fee) for 80 % loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased overall from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $726,200) increased to 6.40% from 6.28%, with points decreasing to 0.5 from 0.51 (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 6.41% from 6.33%, with points increasing to 1.04 from 0.94 (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 6.03% from 5.89%, with points decreasing to 0.56 from 0.65 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 5.47% from 5.56%, with points increasing to 1.18 from 0.72 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.