When the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, it noted a week-over-week increase of 0.2% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending August 21. That followed an increase of 3.6% for the week ending August 14. Mortgage loan rates fell on four of five loan types last week.
On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 1% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index rose by 2% compared to the week ended August 14. The unadjusted purchase index decreased by 0.3% for the week and is now 18% 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 slipped from 55.5% to 55.3%.
Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.8% of all applications, down from 6.9% in the prior week.
In a report released Tuesday on new household formation, the MBA’s research director said:
Household formation has been depressed in recent years by a long, jobless recovery and by a lull in the growth of the working age population. Improving employment markets will build on major demographic trends — including maturing of Baby Boomers, Hispanics and Millennials — to create strong growth in both owner and rental housing markets over the next decade.
The association projects that new household formation will reach between 13.9 and 15.9 million additional households by 2024, making the next decade one of the strongest in housing in U.S. history.
According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped from 4.11% to 4.08%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.03% to 4.00%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 3.37% to 3.33%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan decreased from 2.98% to 2.96%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan rose from 3.88% to 3.90%.
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