Mortgage applications volume dropped 10 percent on a
seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended November 11 according to
results of the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage
Applications Survey. The non-seasonally
adjusted decrease in MBA's Market Composite Index was 19.6 percent during the
week which was impacted to some extent by the Veterans Day holiday.
The Refinance Index was down 12.2 percent from the
week ended November 4 and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index lost 2.3
percent. The unadjusted Purchase Index
was down 14.8 percent from the previous week and 9.5 percent from the same week
in 2010.
The four-week moving average for all three indices
increased with the Market Index up 1.02 percent, the seasonally adjusted
Purchase Index up 2.53 percent and the Refinance Index up 0.61 percent.
Applications for
refinancing represented 77.3 percent of all applications compared to 78.6
percent the previous week while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share increased
to 6.1 percent from 5.8 percent. During
the week 28.8 percent of applications for refinancing were for fixed rate
15-year loans, the second largest share for those loans since the survey was re-benchmarked
at the beginning of the year.
Applications for 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRM) made up 50.6 percent
of applications for refinancing and ARMS 6.0 percent. Applications for home purchases were
overwhelmingly (85.5 percent) for 30-year FRM with 6.9 percent seeking 15-year FRMs
and 5.9 percent ARMS, a low for the year.
Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed
Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed
Interest rates were
mixed. The rate for a 30-year FRM with a
conforming loan balance - under $417,500 - increased to 4.23 percent with 0.52
point from 4.22 percent with 0.41 point.
Points include origination fees.
The effective rate of 30-year conforming FRMs increased. The rate for jumbo 30-year FRM (loans with a
balance above $417,500) decreased from 4.57 percent to 4.56 percent and points
decreased from 0.47 to 0.46. The effective
rate also decreased.
Thirty-year FRMS
backed by FHA had an average contract interest rate of 4.03 percent, up one
basis point from the previous week.
Points increased (from 0.49 to 0.59) as did the effective rate.
Rates for 15-year FRM
were unchanged at 3.54 percent with points up from 0.45 to 0.47 and 5/1 ARM
mortgage rates were also unchanged at 3.01 percent with points increasing from
0.47 to 0.49. The effective rate of both
loan types increased.
All rates quoted are
for loans with an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio and are derived from an MBA
survey covering 75 percent of U.S. retail mortgage applications. Respondents include mortgage bankers,
commercial banks, and thrifts. The index
is based on activity during the week of March 16, 1990.