U.S. Mortgage Applications Increase as Interest Rates Are Little Changed
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sharp increase follows a small gain in prior week.
- Purchase & refinancing applications rise.
- Mortgage rates remain below late-May high.
Mortgage applications rose 3.0% (-33.0% y/y) in the week ending June 23 after a 0.5% increase in the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. It was the third consecutive weekly rise.
Applications for loans to purchase a house increased 2.8% (-29.9% y/y) last week after rising 1.5% in the week prior. It was the third straight weekly increase. Applications for loan refinancing rose 3.3% (-39.5% y/y) after falling 2.1% in the prior week.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 27.2% of total applications in the June 23 week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity eased to 6.1%, the lowest since the first week of April.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan of 6.94% last week compared to 6.92% in the prior week and was below the 7.15% high at the end of May. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 6.40% after falling to 6.43% in the previous week. The rate on a 30-year Jumbo loan edged up to 7.11% from 6.94%. The rate on a 5-year ARM loan rose to a record 6.66% from 6.61% in the previous week. It was increased from 5.83% at the end of last year.
The average size of a mortgage loan increased to $384,200 from the average $347,600 at the end of last year. The average size of a purchase loan was little changed at $428,000 (3.5% y/y) while the average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage increased to $267,100 (-2.3% y/y) from $260,700 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.
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.
More Economy in Brief
