
Mortgage applications fell by 1.1% on a seasonally-adjusted basis for the week ending July 12, 2019, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. (Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Fourth of July.)
On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, rose by 24% from the previous week. The Refinance Index rose 2% over the same period. The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index fell 4%, and the unadjusted Index rose 21%.
The refinance share of mortgage activity rose to 50.0% of applications, up from 48.7%. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share fell to 4.9% of applications. The FHA share rose to 10.6% from 10.1%, the VA share fell to 12.9% from 13.2%, and the USDA share fell to 0.6% from 0.7%.
“Mortgage rates increased across the board, with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rising to its highest level in a month to 4.12 percent, which is still below this year’s average of 4.45 percent,” says Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “Coming out of the July 4th hol-iday, applications were lower overall, with purchase activity slipping almost 4 percent. Refinance appli-cations increased, with activity reaching its highest level in a month, driven mainly by FHA refinance applications. Historically, government refinance activity lags slightly in response to rate changes. Buyer interest at the start of the second half of the year continues to outpace year ago levels, with activity last week up 7 percent.”
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) rose to 4.12% from 4.04%. Points for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans rose to 0.38 from 0.37. (All 80% LTV loan reports include the origination fee.) The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $484,350) rose to 4.07% from 4.03%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.21 from 0.27, and the effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA rose to 4.01% from 3.97%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.28 from 0.30, and the effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 3.48% from 3.42%. Points for 80% LTV loans remained unchanged at 0.32, and the effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs rose to 3.58% from 3.56%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.27 from 0.28, and the effective rate increased from last week.