Mortgage Loan Rates Tick Up as Refinancing Increases

August 6, 2014 by Paul Ausick

House for Sale
Source: Thinkstock
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting an increase of 1.6% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index following a drop of 2.2% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rates rose slightly on all types of loans last week.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 1% from the prior week’s report. On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 1% week-over-week. The unadjusted purchase index decreased by 1% for the week and remains 14% lower year-over-year.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans account for 8% of all applications, unchanged from previous weeks.

The MBA’s refinance index increased by 4% after falling by 4% in the previous week. The share of refinancings increased from 53% to 55% of all applications. That’s the highest refinance share since March.

The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 4.33% to 4.35%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 4.22% to 4.26%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.47% to 3.51%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan rose from 3.31% to 3.32%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan rose from 4.03% to 4.06.

Mortgage rates wiggled around in July but finished the month about where they started, according to The Mortgage Report, at an overall average for all types of loans of 4.12%. Better economic news, slightly higher inflation, and an improving jobs picture could combine to increase demand for mortgages, which means of course that loan rates will rise.

ALSO READ: UBS Says Only 4 Homebuilder Stocks Are Buys Now

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.