Mortgage Apps Little Changed; FHA/VA Gain Market Share

Mortgage application volume declined slightly in all but one category during the week ended November 7.  The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its Market Composite Index, a measure of application volume, was down 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from volume during the week ended October 31 and was 2 percent lower on a non-adjusted basis.

Refinancing retained the previous week's 63 percent share of application volume but the Refinance Index declined by 2 percent.

Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was the only index to increase compared to the previous week, rising 1 percent.  The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from a week earlier and was 11 percent lower than during the same week in 2013.

Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The market share of FHA-backed mortgages increased from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent and the VA share rose from 10.7 percent to 11 percent.  USDA mortgages made up 0.9 percent of total applications, unchanged from the previous week.

Both contract and effective interest rates were mixed.  The average contract rate for conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) (loans with balances of $417,000 or less) increased 2 basis points to 4.19 percent and points increased to 0.26 from 0.22.  The effective rate increased.

The jumbo 30-year FRM (balances in excess of $417,000) had an average rate of 4.13 percent, unchanged from the previous week.  Points increased to 0.15 from 0.11 and the effective rate also increased. 

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.90 percent from 3.84 percent, with points decreasing to 0.14 from 0.34.  The effective rate remained unchanged from the previous week.

Rates for the 15-year FRM were unchanged at 3.38 percent and points decreased to 0.22 form 0.31.  The effective rate decreased.

Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages fell to the lowest market share since January even as the interest rate for the 5/1 hybrid ARM decreased to 3.05 percent from 3.08 percent and points decreased to 0.32 from 0.33.  The effective rate also decreased. 

MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from which application and rate information is compiled covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100 and interest rates assume loans with an 80 percent loan to value ratio. Points include the origination fee.