Mortgage applications activity rallied slightly for the second consecutive time during the week ended May 9.  The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that mortgage application volume as measured by its Market Composite Index increased during the week by a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent and was up 3 percent on an unadjusted basis.

Responses to the MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey indicated that refinancing also recovered slightly.  The Refinance Index increased 7 percent compared to the previous week, its best performance in nearly a month.  The refinancing share of applications, which, during the week ended May 2 made up less than half of all applications for the first time since 2009, recovered to 50 percent.

Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The Purchase Index was virtually unchanged from the previous week, falling a faction of a percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and rising about the same amount on the unadjusted index.  The unadjusted Purchase Index was 12 percent lower than during the same week in 2013.

Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.39 percent, the lowest rate since November 2013, from 4.43 percent, with points increasing to 0.22 from 0.21.  The rate for average 30-year FRMs with jumbo loan balances over $417,000 was unchanged from the previous week at 4.29 percent but points increased to 0.16 from 0.13.  The jumbo 30-year was the only loan product for which the effective rate increased during the week.

FHA-backed 30-year FRM had its lowest rate since November, an average of 4.09 percent, down from 4.13 percent.  Points decreased to -0.17 from -0.03.  

The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRM also was at the lowest level since November 2013; 3.48 percent with 0.12 point compared to 3.52 percent with 0.22 point the previous week. 

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) decreased to 3.17 percent from 3.21 percent, with points decreasing to 0.24 from 0.29.  The market share of all types of ARMS decreased from 9 percent to 8 percent

MBA's survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100 and interest rate information is for loans with an 80 percent loan to value ratio and points include the origination fee.