WASHINGTON–Mortgage volume was up in the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index.
The Index, a measure of mortgage application volume, increased 3% on both a seasonally adjusted and an unadjusted basis compared to the week ended July 28, the MBA reported.
According to the MBA, the share of refinancing applications rose to 46.7% of the total from 45.5% the previous week, and the Refinancing Index was up 5%. Purchase mortgage activity was also slightly higher, the Purchase Index gained 1% seasonally adjusted and 0.3% on an unadjusted basis. The unadjusted Purchase Index was 7% higher than the same week in 2016, the MBA said.
Among the MBA data:
- Average interest rates were lower for all fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) and the effective rate was lower across the board
- The average rate for 30-year FRM with conforming loan balances of $424,100 or less was 4.14%, down from 4.17% the previous week. Points increased to 0.38 from 0.36
- The jumbo 30-year FRM, loans with balances higher than the conforming loan limit, had an average rate of 4.07 with 0.26 point. A week earlier the rate was 4.11% with 0.25 point
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year FRM backed by the FHA decreased to 4.02% from 4.07%. Points rose to 0.38 from 0.35
- Fifteen-year FRM loan rates averaged 3.41% with 0.41 point. The prior week the rate was 3.45% with 0.44 point
- Applications for adjustable rate mortgages increased slightly to 6.8% from the previous weeks 6.6% share. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs ticked up one basis point to 3.31%, but a decline in points from 0.29 to 0.21 still kept the effective rate lower