Inquiries for rates on refinance transactions jumped by more than a quarter as interest rates fell. All other categories also moved higher.
The U.S. Mortgage Market Index from LoanSifter and Mortgage Daily finished up the week ended Sept. 20 at 201.
Compared to a week earlier, average pricing inquiries per LoanSifter user were up 17 percent. However, business dropped 28 percent from the same week in 2012.
Year-earlier numbers were revised to reflect statistics from the same data provider.
The most recent week’s biggest mover was the refinance category, rising 25 percent from a week earlier, though refinance inquiries were off by more than half from a year earlier.
The share of overall activity represented by refinances rose to 49.2 percent from 45.8 percent in the week ended Sept. 13. Refinance share was more than three-quarters in the same week last year. The latest share consisted of a 35.1 percent rate-term share and a 14.0 percent cashout share.
Pricing inquiries for jumbo mortgages were up 18.9 percent and have climbed 40 percent from the week ended Sept. 21, 2012. Jumbo share, meanwhile, inched up to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent and has nearly doubled from 4.3 percent a year ago.
Interest rates on jumbo loans were 25 basis points higher than on conforming loans. The jumbo-conforming spread narrowed from 27 BPS in the previous report and 49 BPS in the same week during 2012.
An 18.8 percent week-over-week rise was recorded for adjustable-rate mortgages, while the year-over-year increase was 90 percent — the biggest gain for any category. ARM share crept up to 11.0 percent from 10.8 percent one week prior. ARM share was just 4.16 percent a year prior.
Conventional mortgage inquiries were lifted by 18 percent but were down more than a third from the year-earlier period.
Inquiries for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration ascended 14 percent. But FHA business has fallen 28 percent from a year ago. FHA share slipped to 15.2 percent from 15.6 percent in the previous week and 15.3 percent in the same week during the previous year.
The week’s worst performer was the purchase financing category, which was up only 9 percent. But purchases were 56 percent stronger than one year previous.
Business improved as 30-year fixed rates fell to 4.718 percent from 4.836 percent one week earlier on the Federal Reserve’s decision to continue its purchases of mortgage and Treasury bonds for at least the short term. The 30 year was 3.687 percent this week last year.
Pricing inquiries for 15-year loans yielded rates that were 95 BPS better than on 30-year mortgages, a little worse than the 96-basis-point discount seven days earlier. A year earlier, the spread was just 63 BPS.
Thirty-year rates are likely to be around 4 BPS better in the next report based on an analysis of this week’s Treasury market activity.
At 2.75 percent, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note closed Friday lower than the 2.79 percent average for the week encompassed by the latest Mortgage Market Index report, according to Treasury Department data.
