Following last week’s adjustment for the holiday, mortgage applications fell 4.6% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 20.
The prior week's mortgage application report recorded the first increase in a while. However, the results included an adjustment for the Columbus Day holiday.
Broken up, the Refinance Index decreased 3% from the previous week, as the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6% from one week earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity moved back up and increased to 49.5% of total applications. This is up from 48.6% the previous week.
Similarly, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.4% of total applications.
The Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications decreased to 9.8% from 10.4% the week prior, while the Veterans Affairs’ share of total applications decreased to 10.1% from 10.5% the week prior.
The Department of Agriculture’s share of total applications decreased to 0.7% from 0.8% the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) increased to 4.18% from 4.14%.
Meanwhile, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) decreased to 4.11% from 4.13%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 4.04% from 4%, while the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.48% from 3.45%.
Lastly, the average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.29% from 3.31%.
