The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey reported a 9.4% seasonally-adjusted decrease in mortgage applications from one week earlier during the week that ended on November 25, 2016. On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index of mortgage applications decreased by 38% over the same period. (This week’s data includes an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.)
The Refinance index decreased by 16% from the previous week, and the seasonally-adjusted Purchase index decreased 0.2%. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased by 34%.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 55.1% of total mortgage applications, down from 58.2% one week earlier. The adjustable-rate mortgage share increased to 5.7% of total mortgage applications, its highest level since June 2016. The average loan size for purchase applications reached $312,000 during the survey period, a record high for the survey. The FHA share of application volume decreased to 10.4% from 11.7%, the VA share decreased to 11.7% from 12.5%, and the USDA share remained unchanged at 0.8%.
The average contract interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages increased to their highest levels since July 2015 across all loan types. For mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less), the rate increased to 4.23% from 4.16%, with points increasing to 0.41 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans. (All 80 percent LTV reports include the origination fee.) For mortgages with jumbo loan balances (more than $417,000), the rate increased to 4.18% from 4.04%, with points for 80 percent LTV loans decreasing to 0.29 from 0.37. For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA, the rate increased to 4.00% from 3.90%, with points increasing to 0.44 from 0.36.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.48% from 3.35%, its highest level since October 2014. Points increased to 0.33 for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.23%, with points increasing to 0.44 from 0.28 for 80 percent LTV loans.
