Refi apps saw their share of overall activity recover
Mortgage application volume declined for the fifth consecutive week during the period ending August 10 as refinance applications increased 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, fell 2% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 3% on an unadjusted basis. The Refinance Index remained unchanged. The Purchase Index slipped 3% on a seasonally adjusted basis and fell 4% on an unadjusted basis. The unadjusted Purchase Index was 3% lower compared to the year-ago level.
Applications for refinances accounted for 37.6% of all applications, an increase from their previous share of 36.6%. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.2%.
FHA applications made up 10.4% of the total, remaining unchanged from the previous period. The VA share of total applications remained unchanged from 10.6%. USDA applications also saw their share steady at 0.8%.
All average contract interest rates for various mortgage types increased during the period, except for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, which saw its average increase to 4.27% from 4.26%, with points increasing to 0.52 from 0.48.
Rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances fell to 4.81% from 4.84%, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.45. The average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with jumbo loan balances decreased to 4.73% from 4.74%, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.39.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage backed by the FHA saw rates average 4.77%, down from 4.83%, with points decreasing to 0.68 from 0.76. The average for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 4.06% from 4.07%, with points increasing to 0.48 from 0.42.
