Mortgage Loan Rates Show Small Moves as New Applications Drop Again

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By Paul Ausick Updated Published
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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a decline of 3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending August 3. Mortgage loan rate movements were mixed last week.

Mortgage loan rates remained flat last week, with the 30-year fixed rate loan ending the week at 4.72%, according to Mortgage News Daily. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds closed the week at around 2.98% on Tuesday, up by two basis points week over week.

On an unadjusted basis, the MBA’s composite index also fell by 3% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 2% compared with the week ended July 27. The unadjusted purchase index also fell by 2% for the week and was 2% lower year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index decreased by 5% week over week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 37.1% to 36.6%.

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Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.3% of all applications, down from 6.4% in the prior week.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 4.84%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped from 4.76% to 4.74%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped from 4.29% to 4.26%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan decreased from 4.17% to 4.07%, backing off an all-time high. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan rose from 4.78% to 4.83%.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

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.

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