Refinance Inquiries Jump in Weekly Mortgage Market Index

Refinance Inquiries Jump in Weekly Mortgage Market Index

DALLAS — (Oct. 1, 2012) Inquiries for residential refinances leapt last week as consumers were motivated to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates on record. The surge was even stronger for jumbo loans.

Loan originators pulled an average of 11 percent more inquiries more inquiries than they did a week earlier, leaving the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortech Inc. and Mortgage Daily for the week ended Sept. 28 at 250.

The index, however, has fallen 20 percent from the same week last year.

Jumbo activity led all categories, rising 17 percent from the week ended Sept. 21. Jumbo share inched up to 8.9 percent from the previous week’s 8.5 percent.

Jumbo business strengthened despite that the premium for jumbo loans jumped to 73 basis points from 69 BPS a week earlier. The jumbo-conforming spread was 70 BPS in the week ended Sept. 30, 2011.

Refinances rose 15 percent for the week, though refinance activity is down by 12 percent from a year previous. Refinance share widened to 77 percent from 75 percent and was 70 percent during the same week last year. This week’s rate-term share was 64 percent, and cashout share was 13 percent.

Inquiries for conventional loans jumped 12 percent from the prior report and were 21 percent lower than 12 months prior.

The week-over-week gain for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration was 7 percent. FHA business was down 12 percent from the same week in 2011. FHA share narrowed to 9.9 percent from 10.3 percent in the prior report. FHA share was 9.0 percent the same week last year.

Even adjustable-rate mortgage business was better, rising 5 percent from a week previous. But ARM activity stands 62 percent below the same week in 2011. ARM share slipped to 2.6 percent from 2.8 percent a week earlier and was 5.5 percent a year earlier.

Inquiries for purchase financing inched up 2 percent — the smallest week-over-week gain of any category. Purchase inquiries were 38 percent lower than a year previous.

Prospective borrowers were quoted an average rate of 3.411 percent on 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages, falling from 3.580 percent in the prior report to the lowest level ever recorded since the Mortgage Market Index was launched in 2009. The 30 year averaged 4.141 percent in the year-earlier report.

Rates reacted to the Federal Reserve’s recently announced plan to buy $40 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities each month.

The discount on 15-year mortgages diminished to 59 BPS from 64 BPS the prior week and 68 BPS a year earlier.