Mortgage Applications Continue to Increase
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Refinancing & purchase loans both rise.
- Interest rates decline again.
Mortgage applications increased 3.0% (-51.6% y/y) in the week ended March 17 following a 6.5% advance in the prior week. It was the third consecutive weekly gain. These data are from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Applications to refinance an existing loan increased 4.9% (-68.4% y/y) following a 4.8% gain. It also was the third straight weekly rise. Purchase loan applications improved for the third straight month. The 2.2% gain (-36.2% y/y) followed a 7.3% increase.
The percentage of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 28.6% in the week ended March 17 from 28.2% in the previous week. The percentage of ARM loan applications edged higher to 8.6% from 8.5% in the prior week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan eased to 6.67% last week from 6.94% in the week previous. This compares to an average of 6.68% for the four weeks of February. The effective rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to 6.17% from 6.33% in the prior week. It was the lowest rate in five weeks, down from a 6.77% high in the third week of October. The rate on 30-year Jumbo loans fell to 6.46% from 6.56% in the week of March 10. The rate on a 5-year ARM fell to 5.86%, down from a 6.21% high early in November.
The average loan size rose 1.8% (0.4% y/y) to $389,000 in the week ended March 17. The series high of $401,900 was reached in the week ended May 6, 2022. The average size of a purchase loan rose 1.6% (-4.9%) in the latest week to $437,700. The average loan size to refinance a mortgage gained 3.8% (-10.2% y/y) to $267,700.
The Mortgage Bankers Survey covers 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. The base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. The figures for weekly mortgage applications and interest rates are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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