Mortgage Applications Decrease Slightly

Mortgage applications decreased 0.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 7, 2014.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 11 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 63 percent of total applications from the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.1 percent of total applications, the lowest level since January 2014.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 9.6 percent this week from 9.5 percent last week. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.0 percent this week from 10.7 percent last week. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.9 percent this week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 4.19 percent from 4.17 percent, with points increasing to 0.26 from 0.22 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent 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 $417,000) remained unchanged at 4.13 percent, with points increasing to 0.15 from 0.11 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.90 percent from 3.84 percent, with points decreasing to 0.14 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 3.38 percent, with points decreasing to 0.22 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.05 percent from 3.08 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.