Mortgage Applications Surge, Purchases at Three-Year High

While refinancing drove mortgage originations, a small uptick was enough to send purchase applications to a three year high according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended May 3.

MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of all mortgage volume, rose 7.0 percent on both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis from the week ended April 26.   The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from the previous week and reached the highest level since May 2010.   On an unadjusted basis the Purchase Index was up 3 percent from the week before and was 12 percent higher than a year earlier. 

Refinancing surged during the week, reflecting the run of 2013 interest rate lows ahead of Friday's Employment Data.  The MBA's Refinancing Index was up 8 percent from the previous week, reaching a level last seen in January.  Conventional refinancing rose 8.8 percent and the government index was up 5.7 percent.  Applications for refinancing represented 76 percent of all mortgage volume and regular refinancing products reclaimed some business from the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP); its share dropped from 34 to 30 percent.

The government share of purchase applications declined to 29.1 percent, a two year low.  Not only were average FHA interest rates were the only ones to increase, but the program continues to lose ground against Conventional loans due to the growing disparity in mortgage insurance premiums.  The average rate for FHA-backed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) rate rose by a single basis point to 3.35 percent but points jumped from 0.37 to 0.57 and the effective rate increased.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.59 percent, the lowest rate since December 2012, from 3.60 percent, with points increasing to 0.33 from 0.30.  The effective rate increased.  The jumbo 30-year FRM, with loan balances greater than $417,500, declined from 3.80 percent with 0.29 point to 3.79 percent with 0.20 point and the effective rate decreased.

Both 15-year FRM and the 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) set new MBA survey lows.  The 15-year rate declined from 2.84 percent to 2.81 percent while points increased to 0.29 from 0.26.  The 5/1 ARM was down to 2.53 percent with 0.15 point from 2.55 percent with 0.22 point.  The effective rate for both loan types decreased.   

Rates are quoted for loans with 80 percent loan-to-value ratios and points include the origination fee.

MBA's survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.  Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.