Mortgage Loan Rates Show Small Moves as New Applications Drop Again

August 8, 2018 by Paul Ausick

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%.

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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