Global| Aug 10 2011U.S. Mortgage Applications Surge with Re-fi Demand
Summary
Total mortgage applications jumped 21.7% in the week through August 5, to 688.0 (March 16, 1990 = 100). The gain was in applications to refinance, which surged 30.4% to 3,625.7; those for home purchase remained sluggish with a [...]
Total mortgage applications jumped 21.7% in the week through August 5, to 688.0 (March 16, 1990 = 100). The gain was in applications to refinance, which surged 30.4% to 3,625.7; those for home purchase remained sluggish with a decrease of 0.9% to 184.2. The average loan size for both types of transactions rose, with purchase applications wanting $219,700, up 2.0% on the week and the highest since early June. Refi applications saw much greater advances that averaged $238,000, up 17.9% and the highest since this time last year.
The effective rate on fixed-interest conventional 15-year mortgages has dropped the last two weeks and set a new record low of 3.76%. The effective rate on 30-year fixed rate loans fell somewhat too, to 4.58% from 4.60% last week and 4.80% in the July 22 week, when we last commented on these developments. Its record low occurred last October 8, at 4.41%.
The Mortgage Bankers Association surveys between 20 to 35 of the top lenders in the U.S. housing industry to derive its refinance, purchase and market indexes. The weekly survey covers roughly 50% of all U.S. residential mortgage applications processed each week by mortgage banks, commercial banks and thrifts. The figures for weekly mortgage applications are available in Haver's SURVEYW database.
| MBA Mortgage Applications(SA, 3/16/90=100) | 8/05/11 | 7/29/11 | 7/22/11 | Y/Y % | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market Index | 688.0 | 565.3 | 528.0 | -6.3 | 659.3 | 736.4 | 642.9 |
| Purchase | 184.2 | 185.8 | 176.7 | 5.0 | 199.8 | 263.5 | 345.4 |
| Refinancing | 3625.7 | 2,780.5 | 2,578.8 | -9.2 | 3,348.1 | 3,509.2 | 2,394.1 |
| 15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.76 | 3.78 | 3.94 | 4.22 (8/06) |
4.39 | 4.85 | 5.88 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
