Mortgage Applications Drift Lower as Rates Pull Back

Mortgage application volume continued to drift during the week ended February 7.  The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, was down 2.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week ended January 31.  On an unadjusted basis the index increased 0.3 percent.

The Refinance Index was down 0.2 percent.  Applications for refinancing maintained a 62 percent share of all application activity, the same as in the two previous weeks.

Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was down 5 percent from the week before and the unadjusted index was up 1 percent.  The unadjusted index was 13 percent below its level during the same week in 2013.

Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

Except for FHA-backed mortgages interest rates inched down slightly.  The average rate for the FHA 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) rose 1 basis point to 4.13 percent.  Points decreased to 0.10 from 0.15.

The 30-year FRM with conforming loan balances (417,000 or less) averaged 4.45 percent with 0.34 point compared to 4.47 percent with 0.25 points the week before.  This was the sole product for which the effective rate increased.

Jumbo 30-year FRM, loans with balances above $417,000, had an average contract rate of 4.40 percent, down from 4.42 percent.  Points increased to 0.14 from 0.11.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.49 percent from 3.53 percent, with points decreasing to 0.25 from 0.28

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) decreased to 3.11 percent from 3.15 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.41 The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of mortgage applications increased marginally to 8 percent.

MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey covers 75 percent of the U.S. retail residential mortgage market and has been conducted since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts.  The base for indexes is March 16, 1990=100 and mortgage rates are based on loans with an 80 percent loan to value ratios.  Points include the origination fee.