U.S. Mortgage Applications Increase
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Refinancing applications strengthen & purchase applications rise.
- Mortgage interest rate on 30-year loan holds steady.
Mortgage applications increased 7.4% (-56.1% y/y) in the week ended February 3 following a 9.0% decline during the prior week. These data are from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Applications to refinance an existing loan jumped 17.7% (-74.8% y/y) after falling 7.1% in the prior week. Applications for purchase rose 3.1% (-32.7% y/y) following a 10.3% decline.
The percentage of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 33.9% in the week ended February 3, up from 26.1% in November. The percentage of ARM loans eased to 6.6%, down from a recent high of 12.8% in the second week of October.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was little-changed w/w at 6.36%. It was down from a high of 7.42% in the third week of October. The effective rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.80% last week from 5.68% in the prior week. The rate on 30-year Jumbo loans was steady at 6.12%. The rate on a 5-year ARM rose to 5.86% from 5.68% in the prior week.
The average loan size rose 2.0% (3.3% y/y) to $378,200 in the week ended February 3. The series high of $401,900 was reached in the week ended May 6. The average size of a purchase loan rose 2.8% (-4.1% y/y) to $428,500. The average loan size to refinance a mortgage rose 4.1% (-7.7% y/y) to $280,100.
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.
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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