WASHINGTON — Mortgage applications increased 1.9% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 17.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 2% from the previous week and was 7% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 6% compared with the previous week and was 0.2% higher than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates reached another high point last week, with the 30-year conforming rate now at 6.69%, its highest level since last August,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and chief economist. “However, purchase volume increased modestly for the week. Growing home inventory in many markets is supporting more purchase activity. Incoming data showed that inflation dropped in June, but with oil prices spiking again, that improvement seems unlikely to continue in July data, and mortgage rates are likely to remain higher as a result.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 41.2% of total applications from 43.2% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7.7% of total applications.
FHA Share
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 17.0% from 17.7% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 13.2% from 13.6% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5% from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.69% from 6.65%, with points decreasing to 0.62 from 0.67 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $832,750) decreased to 6.44% from 6.62%, with points decreasing to 0.45 from 0.54 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.34% from 6.33%, with points decreasing to 0.74 from 0.81 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.04% from 6.05%, with points decreasing to 0.87 from 0.88 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.97% from 5.75%, with points increasing to 1.11 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.