Mortgage applications continued to drop amid rising mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 27.
The report stated that mortgage applications decreased 2.6% from one week earlier, marking the second week of consecutive declines.
Broken up, the Refinance Index decreased 5% from the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% from one week earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 48.7% of total applications, a drop from 49.5% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.8% of total applications.
Looking at different product types, the Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications increased to 10.4% from 9.8% the week prior, as the Department of Agriculture’s share of total applications increased to 0.8% from 0.7% the week prior.
The Veterans Affairs’ share of total applications decreased to 9.9% from 10.1% the week prior.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates increased to a new high. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) increased to its highest level since July 2017, 4.22%, from 4.18%.
Similarly, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) increased to its highest level since July 2017, 4.16%, from 4.11%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to its highest level since July 2017, 4.07%, from 4.04%.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to its highest level since March 2017, 3.52%, from 3.48%.
Lastly, the average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.33% from 3.29%.
