For the third week in a row, mortgage applications decreased.
Mortgage applications fell 3.1% in the week ending June 4, and refis took the biggest dip, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“Most of the decline in mortgage rates came late last week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declining to 3.15 percent,” said Joel Kan, the MBA’s vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “This likely impacted refinance applications, which fell 5% for both conventional and government loans. But purchase applications were up slightly last week, and the large annual decline was the result of Memorial Day 2021 being compared to a non-holiday week, as well as the big upswing in applications seen last May once pandemic-induced lockdowns started to lift.”
Compared to last year, fewer people are applying for purchase mortgages, the MBA reported, as home prices continue to rise and prospective buyers avoid astronomical bidding wars. Demand is still strong overall, especially in certain markets in the South and West.
“Housing demand is still far outpacing supply,” Kan said. “The average loan size on a purchase application edged down to $407,000, below the record $418,000 set in February — but still far above 2020’s average of $353,900.”
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The refinance share of activity decreased to 60.4% of total mortgage applications from 61.3% the previous week. The FHA share of total mortgage applications decreased to 9.5% from 9.6% the week prior, but the VA share of total mortgage applications increased to 11.2% from 10.9%.
Here is a more detailed breakdown of this week’s applications data:
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) decreased to 3.15% from 3.17%
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $548,250) decreased to 3.29% from 3.34%
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.12% from 3.16%
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 2.52% from 2.56%
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.54% from 2.81%, with points increasing to 0.39 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans
