Mortgage applications took a dive over the last two weeks as consumers focused on the holidays more than buying a home.
Last week marked the only week of the year that the Mortgage Bankers Association does not put out a mortgage application report.
As a result, this week’s report, which already includes adjustments for the Christmas holiday, covers a two-week period.
Mortgage applications decreased 12% from two weeks earlier, according the MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Dec. 30, 2016.
Broken up, the Refinance Index decreased 22% from two weeks ago, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2% from two weeks earlier.
The MBA noted that while the index changes were calculated relative to two weeks prior, the following compositional and rate measures are presented relative to the previous week only.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 52.2% of total applications from 51.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 5.4% of total applications.
Both the FHA and USDA share of total applications increased, growing to 11.6% from 10.7% the week prior and to 1.1% from 1.0% the week prior, respectively.
Meanwhile, the VA share of total applications decreased to 12.3% from 12.4% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased, falling to 4.39% from 4.45%.
Similarly, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 4.37% from 4.41%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained frozen at 4.22%.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.64% from 3.7%, as the average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.28% from 3.41%.
