
Mortgage applications fell by 3.0% on a seasonally-adjusted basis for the week ending January 25th, 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 10% from one week earlier. The Refinance Index fell 6% over the same period. The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index fell 2%, while the unadjusted Index fell 6.
“Mortgage applications for purchase and refinances were lower over the past week, as rates nudged higher,” says Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of industry surveys and forecasts. “After two weeks of decreases, the purchase index still remained roughly 6 percent above its long-run average, which is good news with the spring buying and selling season almost underway. Despite ongoing supply and affordability constraints, the healthy job market and underlying demographic fundamentals both point to gradual purchase growth in the coming months.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 42.0% of total applications, down from 44.5% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity fell to 7.9% of applications. The FHA share of applications remained unchanged from 10.5%, the VA share rose to 10.7% from 10.3%, and the USDA share remained unchanged at 0.4%.
“Refinance activity had seen a small resurgence in the past few weeks, but there still remains only a small share of borrowers left to gain from rates at the current levels,” says Kan.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) rose to 4.76% from 4.75%. Points for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans rose to 0.47 from 0.44. (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 4.60% from 4.59%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.24 from 0.25, and the effective rate remained unchanged from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA fell to 4.77% from 4.82%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.58 from 0.62, and the effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.16% from 4.12%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.46 from 0.53, and the effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs rose to 4.14% from 4.12%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.37 from 0.42, and the effective rate remained unchanged from last week.