The Market Composite Index measure of mortgage loan application volume decreased by 12% during the two-week period between December 16, 2016 and December 30, 2016, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications survey. (This week’s survey results have been adjusted to account for the Christmas holiday.)
The Refinance Index decreased by 22% over the same two-week period, and the seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 2%. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased by 41%; it was 1% lower than it was the same week one year ago.
The following compositional and rate measures are presented relative only to the week ending December 30, 2016. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 52.2% of total applications, up from 51.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4%, while the FHA share increased to 11.6% from 10.7% the week before. The VA share decreased to 12.3% from 12.4%, while the USDA share increased to 1.1% from 1.0% the week before.
For 30-year fixed rate mortgages, the average contract interest rate for loans with conforming balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.39% from 4.45%, with points for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans increasing to 0.43 from 0.39. (All LTV loan reports include the origination fee.) For loans with jumbo balances (more than $417,000), the average contract interest rate decreased to 4.37% from 4.41% from the last week, with points for 80% LTV loans increasing to 0.44 from 0.21. The average contract interest rate for loans backed by the FHA remained at 4.22%, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.44 for 80% LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.64% from 3.70%, with points rising to 0.38 from 0.34 for 80% LTV loans. For 5/1 ARMs, the average contract interest rate decreased to 3.28% from 3.41% from the previous week, with 80% LTV loan points increasing to 0.42 from 0.29.
