U.S. Mortgage Applications Declined in Late March
Summary
- Mortgage applications declined in the week ending March 31.
- Both applications for purchase and refinancing a loan fell.
- The effective rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan eased, while other rates rose in the latest week.
Mortgage loan applications declined 4.1% (-45.3% y/y) in the week ended March 31, following an increase of 2.9% (-46.5% y/y) in the week ended March 24. It ended a fourth consecutive weekly gain. Applications remained near the lowest level since early 1997. These data are from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Purchase loan applications decreased 3.5% (-35.5% y/y) in the week ended March 31, also ending a four-consecutive weekly gain. Purchase applications had risen 2.0% (-35.3% y/y) the prior week. Applications to refinance an existing loan dropped 5.4% (-59.1% y/y) after a 4.8% (-61.1% y/y) rise in the week ended March 24.
The percentage of applications for refinancing an existing loan eased to 28.6% in the week ended March 31, from 29.1% in the previous week. The percentage of ARM loan fell to 7.2% from 7.7% in the prior week. It was the lowest percentage of applications in six weeks.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan eased to 6.57% in the week ended March 31 from 6.63% in the previous week. This compares to an average of 6.68% for the four weeks of February and it is down from a 7.02% high at the beginning of March. The effective rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.11% from 5.98% in the prior week. The rate on 30-year Jumbo loans rose to 6.50% from 6.42% the prior week. The rate on a 5-year ARM inched up to 5.98% from 5.95% but remained below a 6.21% high early in November.
The average loan size fell 0.8% (-2.1% y/y) to $381,100 in the week ended March 31. The series high of $401,900 was reached in the week ended May 6, 2022. The average size of a purchase loan declined 0.6% (-5.4% y/y) in the latest week to $428,000. The average loan size to refinance an existing mortgage decreased 2.8% (-8.7% y/y) to $264,100.
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.
Kathleen Stephansen, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Kathleen Stephansen is a Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and an Independent Trustee for the EQAT/VIP/1290 Trust Funds, encompassing the US mutual funds sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Company. She is a former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies USA, Senior Economic Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management’s Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen held various positions as Chief Economist or Head of Global Research at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation.
Kathleen serves on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), as Vice-Chair of the GIC College of Central Bankers, is the Treasurer for Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain and graduate degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire (MA) and the London School of Economics (PhD abd).
More Economy in Brief
Global