Housing

Mortgage Loan Rates Fell Last Week, Refinancings Jump

Paul Ausick

Published: January 20, 2016 7:20 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 2:51 pm

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a week-over-week increase of 9% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending January 15. Mortgage loan rates for fixed-rate loans decreased to their lowest levels since October of last year, while adjustable-rate mortgage loans saw interest rates rise.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 12% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 2% compared with the week ended January 8. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 4% for the week and is now 17% higher year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index increased by 19% week over week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 55.8% to 59.1%.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6% of all applications, up from 5.1% in the previous week.

Mortgage Daily News reported on Tuesday that the best mortgage rate for a lender’s most highly qualified buyers had dipped to 3.875%, following a sharp drop in lending rate last Friday. A few lenders were offering mortgages at 3.75% for top-tier borrowers.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.12% to 4.06%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.02% to 3.93%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 3.42% to 3.29%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan increased from 3.14% to 3.20%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan fell from 3.90% to 3.86%.