Mortgage applications have increased in each of the last three weeks, according to data compiled by the Market Composite Index.
Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey reported that mortgage applications increased 4.5 percent for the week ending Jan. 19, 4.1 percent for the week ending Jan. 12, and 8.3 percent the week ending Jan. 5. All results are on a seasonally-adjusted basis and include additional adjustments for holidays, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
The upward trend comes after approximately a month of decreases in mortgage applications, which began the second week of December and ended the second week of January.
The most recent survey provides a breakdown of the market shares for loans issued by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Veterans Administration (VA) and United State Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as metrics tracking refinances, rates and pricing for the week ending Jan. 19.
The Refinance Index increased 1 percent from the previous week, however, the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 49.4 percent of total applications from 52.2 percent during that timeframe, according to the survey results. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.2 percent of total applications.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index ticked up 6 percent to its highest level since April 2010, and the unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent compared with the week prior and was 7 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 11.4 percent from 11.7 percent the week before. Conversely, VA loans saw a slight increase in mortgage share to 10.9 percent from 10.7 percent. The USDA loan share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent from the week prior.
The survey also noted the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance ($453,100 or less) jumped to its highest level since March 2017 at 4.36 percent from 4.33 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.54 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from the previous week.