U.S. Mortgage Applications Declined in the Latest Week
Summary
- Mortgage applications declined in the week ended June 30 after three consecutive weekly increases.
- The effective rates on fixed loans rose in the latest week, while the adjustable rate declined.
- The average loan size declined in the latest week.
Mortgage loan applications dropped 4.4% (-32.4% y/y) in the week ending June 30, after an increase of 3.0% (-33.0% y/y) in the week ending June 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The drop follows three consecutive weekly increases.
Applications for loans to purchase a house declined 4.6% (-30.2% y/y) in the week ending June 30, following an 2.8% (-29.9% y/y) rise the week prior. Applications for loan refinancing contracted 4.1% (-37.1% y/y) last week, after a rise of 3.3% (-39.5% y/y) in the prior week.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 27.4% of total applications in the June 30 week, from 27.2% in the June 23 week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity inched up to 6.2% in the week ended June 30 from 6.1% the prior week, when it had reached its lowest share since the first week of April.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose to 7.04% in the ended June 30, up from 6.94% the prior week. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.52% last week, up from 6.40% in the previous week. The rate on a 30-year Jumbo loan edged up to 7.14% from 7.11%. The rate on a 5-year ARM loan dropped to 6.45% in the week ended June 30, after rising to a record 6.66% the previous week. The rate had been 5.83% at the end of last year.
The average size of a mortgage loan declined 1.4% (+2.6% y/y) to $378,800 in the week ended June 30, from $384,200 the prior week, but remains well above the average of $347,600 at the end of December 2022. The average size of a purchase loan declined 1.1% (+4.5% y/y) to $423,500 from $428,000 the week prior, and the average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage dropped 2.4% (-7.9%) to $260,700 from $267,100 in the prior week.
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).
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