Mortgage applications continued a trend this week, bouncing back after falling the week before, the newest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 19, 2017, released Wednesday morning, shows that mortgage applications increased by 4.4% over the week prior, when applications dropped 4.1% from the week before that.
Per the MBA’s data, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 4.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3% when compared with the previous week, while the Refinance Index increased 11% from the previous week, reaching its highest level since March 2017.
The share of refinance applications climbed back up in the last week, after the previous report showed that the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 41.1% of total applications, which is the lowest level since September 2008.
In this latest report, the refinance share of mortgage activity climbed back up to 43.9% of total applications from 41.1% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 8.2% of total applications.
Broken down by loan product, the Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications increased to 10.8% from 10.6% the week prior. The Veterans Affairs’ share of total applications decreased to 10.5% from 10.7% the week prior. The Department of Agriculture’s share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8% from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) fell to its lowest level since November 2016, 4.17%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) also declined to its lowest level since November 2016, reaching 4.11%.
Additionally, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA fell from 4.11% from 4.07%, while the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined from 3.51% to 3.45%.
