Mortgage Loan Rates Hover Near 4%
The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly report on mortgage applications noted an increase in the group's seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending December 19.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. The report noted an increase of 0.9% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending December 19, following a drop of 3.3% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rates declined on three types of loans and rose on two others.
On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 0.4% week-over-week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 1%, compared to the week ended December 12. The unadjusted purchase index fell by 1% for the week and remains 1% lower year-over-year.
Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.5% of all applications, up from 6.2% in the prior week.
The MBA’s refinance index rose 1% week-over-week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 66% in the prior week to 67%.
The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.06% to 4.02%, the lowest since May 2013. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.99% to 4.07%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 3.33% to 3.29%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan increased from 3.0% to 3.1%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan fell from 3.86% to 3.81%.
The MBA will not issue a report next week. The next report will be released January 7, 2015.
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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.
