Mortgage Applications Slip Despite Record-Low Loan Rates

By Newsmax Finance Staff

Mortgage applications slipped a bit last week despite loan rates falling to record lows, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage applications decreased 0.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 0.3 percent from the previous week and was 44 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier.

“Mortgage applications for refinances and home purchases both decreased slightly last week, despite the 30-year fixed mortgage rate declining to a new MBA survey low of 3.00 percent. Applications for government mortgages offset some of the overall decline by increasing 3 percent, driven by a solid gain in government purchase applications and an 11 percent jump in VA refinance applications,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.

“Refinance and purchase activity continue to run well ahead of last year’s pace, fueled by record-low rates and strong homebuyer demand. Housing supply is a challenge for many aspiring buyers, but activity should continue to stay strong the rest of the year.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 65.6 percent of total applications from 65.4 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($510,400 or less) decreased to 3.00 percent from 3.01 percent.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 2.59 percent.