Mortgage Loan Rates Remain Attractive to Buyers, Refinancing
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. It noted an increase of 2.4% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, following a decline of 3.6% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rate changes…
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. It noted an increase of 2.4% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, following a decline of 3.6% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rate changes were unusually varied last week.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 0.3% from the prior week’s report. On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 3% week-over-week. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 1% for the week and remains 15% 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 slipping slightly in the previous week. The share of refinancings increased from 53.6% to 54.4% of all applications, its highest level since March.
The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 4.33%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 4.23% to 4.21%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.41% to 3.47%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan rose from 3.17% to 3.21%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan decreased from 4.04% to 4.03%.
Both the purchase index and the refinance index rose last week, which indicates that consumers want to buy or refinance. The numbers remain modest, however, especially for refinancings.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.