Weekly application volumes
The MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage applications based on surveys of the trade group's members, climbed up a seasonally adjusted 2.3% for the weekly period ending Aug. 25. Despite the uptick, volumes were still 27.3% lower than in the same survey one year ago.
"Mortgage applications for home purchases and refinances increased for the first time in five weeks but remained at low levels," said Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist in a press release. Kan noted that interest rate movements may have prompted some borrowers to act after a muted start to August.
"Treasury yields peaked early in the week and did move lower by the end, which may have spurred some activity," he said. Mortgage rates are influenced by Treasury yields and typically fluctuate in tandem.
After hitting its highest point since December 2000 in the previous survey, the 30-year rate for loans with conforming balances below $726,200 in most markets came in at the same average of 7.31% last week. Borrower points decreased by 5 basis points to 0.73 from 0.78 for 80% loan-to-value ratio loans.
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"The refinance market continues to be slow despite last week's gain," he said. Compared to the same seven-day period in 2022, refinances were 27.6% lower. The share of refinances relative to overall volumes also ticked up to 30.1% from 29.5% one week prior.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, likewise, inched up 2%, but finished 27.2% lower from year-ago levels. Volumes increased from the previous week for both conventional and federally sponsored purchases.
A week after falling to its lowest average since early this year, purchase-application sizes also turned around to finish higher at the end of the survey period. The mean amount landed at $413,100, up 1.3% from $407,700.
Meanwhile, the combined surge of conventional loans with the drop in government activity drove the average refinance size 2.3% higher, rising to $260,400 from $254,500. The overall average across all applications last week came in at $367,200, 1.3% above the $362,600 reported in the prior survey.
The steep decline of government refinances also helped bring down the overall share of new federally guaranteed applications for the week.
Interest rates came in mostly flat across all categories tracked by the MBA, with the 30-year FHA-backed contract average edging up by a single basis point to 7.1% from 7.09% week over week. Points decreased to 1.09 from 1.2 for 80% LTV loans.
The 15-year contract fixed average was unchanged from seven days earlier, remaining at 6.72%, with borrower points rising 5 basis points to 1.11 from 1.06.
The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage, likewise, saw only a 2 basis point decrease to an average of 6.48% from 6.5% in the previous survey. Points surged to 1.2 from 1.03 for the ARM loans, which stay fixed for the first five years..
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