The refinance share of application activity fell to its lowest level since September 2008
The volume of mortgage applications grew during the week ending April 13 as refinance applications posted another decline in their share of overall activity, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, climbed 4.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis and gained 6% on an unadjusted basis.
The Refinance Index also rose 4% from the previous period. The Purchase Index increased 6% on a seasonally adjusted basis and rose 7% on an unadjusted basis. Compared to the same week in 2017, the unadjusted Purchase Index was higher by 10%.
The overall share of refinance activity was at its lowest level since September 2008. The refinance share decreased to 37.6% from 38.4%. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.6% of total applications.
FHA applications made up 10.6% of overall activity, slipping from its previous 11% share. The VA share declined to 10.4% from 10.9%, and the USDA share of total applications was steady at 0.8%.
During the period, most mortgage types saw average contract interest rates remain unchanged.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances had an average rate steady at 4.66%, with points unchanged at 0.46 for 80% loan-to-value ratio loans. The 4.53% average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with jumbo loan balances also remained unchanged, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.31. The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages was still 4.08%, with points decreasing to 0.47 from 0.50.
Meanwhile, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage backed by the FHA posted an increase in its average rate to 4.7% from 4.66%, with points slipping to 0.53 from 0.76. The average rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.94% from 3.93%, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.60.
