The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 4.9% on a seasonally-adjusted basis from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers’ Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 15th, 2017.
On an unadjusted basis, the Index fell 6.0% from the previous week. The Refinance Index fell 3% over the same period. The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index fell 6%, and the unadjusted Purchase index fell 9%.
The refinance share of mortgage activity rose to its highest level since December 2016 at 53.9% of total applications, up from 52.4% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 5.6% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications fell to 11.3% from 11.8% the previous week. The VA share rose to 10.9% from 10.3%, and the USDA share remained unchanged at 0.7%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) fell to 4.16% from 4.20%. Points for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans fell to 0.35 from 0.39 over the same period. (All 80% LTV loan reports include the origination fee.) 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) rose to 4.14% from 4.11%. Points for 80% LTV loans rose to 0.30 from 0.28, and the effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA fell to 4.11% from 4.13%. Points for 80% LTV loans rose to 0.41 from 0.39, and the effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.60% from 3.61%. Points for 80% LTV loans fell to 0.39 from 0.44, and the effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs rose to 3.49% from 3.42%. Points for 80% LTV loans rose to 0.52 from 0.48, and the effective rate increased from last week.
