After recording a 3 percent slide the week prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index showed a 2 percent seasonally-adjusted decrease in mortgage applications for the week ending Aug. 10.
The index measures mortgage loan application volume across conventional loans, refinances and loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on both a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis.
On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 3 percent compared with the previous week while the refinance index remained steady during that time.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index also saw a 3 percent reduction from the previous week and a 4 percent drop on an unadjusted basis. The index was 3 percent lower than the same week one year prior.
There was a share increase in refinance mortgage activity from 36.6 to 37.6 percent of total applications compared to the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity fell to 6.2 percent of total applications.
There was no change in the 10.4 percent FHA share of total applications from the week before, nor in the 10.6 percent VA share or in the 0.8 percent USDA share.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($453,100 or less) dropped to 4.81 percent from 4.84 percent, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from the previous week.
For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $453,100), the average contract interest rate fell to 4.73 percent from 4.74 percent, with points sliding to 0.29 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from the week before.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate FHA mortgages decreased to 4.77 percent from 4.83 percent, with points dropping to 0.68 from 0.76 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from previous week.
There was an increase in the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages to 4.27 percent from 4.26 percent, with points edging up to 0.52 from 0.48 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 4.06 percent from 4.07 percent, with points ticking up to 0.48 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from the previous week.