U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose in the January 31 Week
Summary
- Purchase loan applications fell while refinancing loan applications jumped in the latest week.
- Effective interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans edged down.
- Average loan size rose to the highest since the November 1 week.
Mortgage applications rose 2.2% (7.0% y/y) in the week ended January 31 after declining by 2.0% (+8.6% y/y) in the week ending January 24, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house fell 3.5% (+2.1% y/y) in the January 31 week, following a decline of 0.4% (+5.1% y/y) in the January 24 week. Applications for loan refinancing jumped 12.2% (16.8% y/y) in the latest week, after a decline of 6.8% (+16.9% y/y) in the prior week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan fell 4bps to 7.16% in the week ending January 31 from 7.20% in the week ending January 24. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell 2bps to 6.54% in the January 31 week, from 6.56% in the January 24. The rate on 30-year jumbo loans fell 4bps to 7.14% in the latest week from 7.18% in the prior week, while the rate on a 5-year ARM plummeted 36bps to 6.31% in the week ended January 31 from 6.67% in the week ended January 24.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 39.0% of total applications in the week ending January 31 from 37.1% in the week ending January 24. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity stayed steady at 5.8% in the latest week.
The average size of a mortgage loan edged up 0.8% (2.3% y/y) to $385,400 in the week ending January 31 from $382,300 in the week ended January 24, reaching the highest level since the November 1 week. The average size of a purchase loan rose 2.5% (2.9% y/y) to $447,300 in the January 31 week from $436,500 in the January 24 week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage declined 0.7% (+6.6% y/y) to $288,400 in the latest week from $290,500 in the January 24 week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association 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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