The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a week-over-week decrease of 4.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending February 19. For the first time in five weeks, mortgage loan rates increased for all types of loans last week. The results include an adjustment for the Presidents’ Day holiday.
On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 12% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 2% compared with the week ended February 12. The unadjusted purchase index decreased by 4% for the week and is now 27% higher year over year.
The MBA’s refinance index decreased by 8% week over week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing fell from 64.3% to 61.0%.
Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 5.8% of all applications, down from 6.7% in the previous week.
Mortgage News Daily noted that mortgage rates for top-tier borrowers have risen to 3.625% in recent days on conventional 30-year fixed loans. The range was between 3.50% and 3.75%. Bond markets, which drive interest rates, were weaker Tuesday, which helps keep interest rates up. By afternoon, bonds were gaining strength and interest rates turned very slightly lower. Mortgage Daily News made an interesting observation:
Keep in mind, we’re not seeing enough movement to affect the contract interest rate itself. Instead, it’s the upfront costs that moved microscopically lower.
According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.83% to 3.85%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.74% to 3.80%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 3.11% to 3.12%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan increased from 2.92% to 3.07%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan rose from 3.67% to 3.72%.
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