Housing

Mortgage Loan Rates Rose, Applications Fell Last Week

Paul Ausick

Published: May 4, 2016 7:25 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 9:54 am

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a week-over-week decrease of 3.4% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending April 29. Mortgage loan rates moved higher on all fixed-rate mortgages last week, while the rate on adjustables dropped sharply.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 3% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 0.1% compared with the week ended April 15. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 1% for the week and is now 13% higher year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index decreased by 6% week over week and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing fell from 54.4% to 52.9%.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 5.3% of all applications, up from 5.2% in the previous week.

The good news for this week is that mortgage rates had reached a two-week low by the end of the day Tuesday. Here’s how Mortgage Daily News explained what’s happening:

[Tuesday]’s stock weakness was big enough that investors sought safer havens, which typically include the US bond market.  As money comes into the bond market, investors are willing to pay more for debt, such as the kind that’s created by pools of mortgages.  Lenders are then able to offer lower mortgage rates. … On average, 3.625% remains the most prevalently-quoted conventional 30yr fixed rate for top tier scenarios.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.85% to 3.87%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.78% to 3.79%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.09% to 3.13%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan slipped from 3.02% to 2.91%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan rose from 3.66% to 3.69%.