Mortgage applications continued their downward trajectory and dropped 3.5% from one week earlier, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 8, 2015.
The refinance index fell 6% from the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased a meager 0.2%.
As a whole, the refinance share of mortgage activity declined to 51% of total applications: the lowest level since May 2014. This is down from 52% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 6.3% of total applications.
The Federal Housing Administration share of total applications decreased to 13.8% from 14% the week prior, while the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs share of total applications remained unchanged at 11.9%. The United States Department of Agriculture share of total applications increased to 0.9% from 0.8% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased to 4%: the highest level since March 2015, from 3.93% a week ago.
In addition, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances increased from 3.91% last week to 3.99%, its highest level since March 2015.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA moved from 3.70% to 3.76%: the highest level since March 2015.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.23% from 3.19%, while the average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs jumped to 3% from 2.87%. Both are the highest level since March 2015.
