Volume bounces back after rough few weeks
The dollar volume of refinance applications was back up for the week ending July 15, according to Fannie Mae’s Refinance Application-Level Index (RALI).
Data from the RALI series, sourced from Fannie’s Desktop Underwriter, showed a 22.3% weekly rebound in refinance dollar volume. However, it remained down by 74.4% from the same period a year ago.
“As expected, refinance applications rebounded significantly following the previous week’s holiday-driven contraction, leaving the year-over-year decrease mostly unchanged at nearly 75%,” Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said. “While mortgage rates have been volatile in recent weeks, they remain significantly higher than they were at the start of the year, limiting consumers’ refi incentive and keeping the overall level of refinance activity low.”
Additionally, the RALI count posted a 21.2% week-over-week increase and was 73.3% lower than last year’s levels.
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The Mortgage Bankers Association also reported an uptick in refi applications. MBA’s refinance index climbed 2% from the prior week and accounted for 30.8% of total applications, up from 29.6% the week before.
“Refinance applications increased slightly last week, driven by an uptick in conventional and FHA refinances. The overall refinance index remained 5% below the average level reported in June. With the 30-year fixed rate 265 basis points higher than a year ago, refinance applications are expected to remain depressed,” said Joel Kan, AVP of economic and industry forecasting at MBA.
