24/7 Wall St.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. It noted no change in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending November 3. During the week, mortgage loan rates fell on four of five loan types that the MBA tracks, while the fifth was unchanged.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 1% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 1% compared with the week ended October 27. The unadjusted purchase index decreased by 2% for the week and is now 9% higher year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index decreased by 1% week over week and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 48.7% to 49.0%.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.6% of all applications, down 0.2 percentage points from the prior week.

Mortgage loan rates have spent the past week at their lowest levels in around three weeks and are headed to lows last seen in late September, according to Mortgage News Daily. Bond markets have shown little volatility and the nomination of Jerome Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve was both expected and generally welcomed.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped from 4.22% to 4.18%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 4.16% to 4.12%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 3.52% to 3.51%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan remained unchanged at 3.33%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan dipped from 4.07% to 4.05%.

24/7 Wall St.
7 Dumb Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Home