| Mortgage applications increased 3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Aug. 4, 2017.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. The Refinance Index increased 5 percent from the previous week. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 0.3 percent compared with the previous week and was 7 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 46.7 percent of total applications from 45.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.8 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 10.2 percent from 10.3 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.7 percent from 10.1 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from the week prior at 0.8 percent.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) decreased to 4.14 percent from 4.17 percent, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.36 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) decreased to 4.07 percent from 4.11 percent, with points increasing to 0.26 from 0.25 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 4.02 percent from 4.07 percent, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.41 percent from 3.45 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.31 percent from 3.3 percent, with points decreasing to 0.21 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
Financial publisher Bankrate’s panel of experts reported “This week (Aug. 8-14), 20 percent of the panelists believe mortgage rates will rise over the next week or so; 50 percent think rates will fall; and 30 percent believe rates will remain relatively unchanged (plus or minus 2 basis points).”
