Despite a drop in home loan applications for both refinancing and purchase financing, there was a notable increase in government-insured applications.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Market Composite Index moved down 4 percent in the week ended April 22 compared to
the previous report.
The index, which is a measure of mortgage loan application volume, retreated just 3 percent on a week-over-week basis without seasonal adjustments.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the index in its
Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Three-quarters of all retail residential loan applications are reportedly represented in the survey.
According to MBA’s data, applications for refinances declined a seasonally adjusted 5 percent from the week ended April 15. At the same time, refinance share thinned to 54.4 percent from 55.4 a week earlier and
55 percent a year earlier.
A 2 percent week-over-week decrease was recorded for purchase financing applications. Foregoing seasonal adjustments, purchase business was off 1 percent from the last report but
14 percent better than in the year-previous report.
The trade group reported that applications for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration made up
12.3 percent of the latest activity. FHA share surged from 10.6 percent but wasn’t as fat as the 13.7 percent previously reported for the same week in 2015.
A Mortgage Daily analysis of MBA data suggests that the volume of FHA applications jumped 11 percent in the latest report.
But the share of applications for mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs thinned to 12.2 percent from 12.6 percent, although VA share was wider than 11.3 percent 12 months earlier.
The association’s data indicate that interest rates on jumbo mortgages were 7 basis points less than conforming rates. The jumbo-conforming spread widened from a negative 6 BPS in the last report and a negative 3 BPS in the year-earlier report.
Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 5.2 percent of the latest overall activity. ARM share
widened from 5.0 percent the prior week but was more narrow than 5.7 percent the same week in the prior year.
