New applications for home loans moved modestly higher on a weekly basis, and it was the refinance category that delivered the biggest gain.
In the week that ended on Dec. 4, the seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index moved up
one percent compared to seven days earlier.
The index, a measure of of loan application volume, soared 43 percent without seasonal adjustments from the week that included Thanksgiving.
The index was included as part of the
Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MBA reported that the
seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was virtually unchanged from the week ended Nov. 27.
Foregoing seasonal adjustments, purchase applications jumped 36 percent from a week earlier and 29 percent from a year earlier.
Moving on to refinance activity, applications were up a seasonally adjusted four percent from the previous report.
Refinance share was 58.7 percent, widening from 56.6 percent the prior week.
Adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 6.2 percent of the latest week’s activity. ARM share slipped from 6.1 percent.
MBA said 14.0 percent of all applications were for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration. FHA share expanded from 13.2 percent.
Loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs made up 10.8 percent of applications, thinning from 11.3 percent the prior week.
Interest rates on jumbo mortgages were 12 basis points less than on conforming loans. The jumbo-conforming spread narrowed from a negative 13 BPS in the last survey.
