Mortgage applications declined for the period ending March 6 as interest rates exceeded the 4% mark for the first time since early January.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's market composite index decreased 1.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the
The refinance gauge was down 3% week over week to its lowest level since January, accounting for 60% of total applications. Meanwhile, the purchase index was up 3% from one week ago, as the average loan size for purchase applications increased to its highest figure since the survey started 25 years at $294,900.
Interest rates for 30-year fixed conforming mortgages and jumbo loans both elevated in the first week of March. The average contract interest rate for conforming loan balances below $417,000 increased five basis points from the previous week, to 4.01%. Furthermore, jumbo loan balances above $417,000 saw the average interest rate rise seven basis points, to 4.02%.
Additionally, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration had an average rate of 3.8%, up four basis points from a week earlier. Lastly, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed mortgages grew two basis points, to 3.29%.
The MBA survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.
