A modest weekly increase in new mortgage business was led by loans to finance a home purchase. As rates retreated, adjustable-rate activity turned sharply lower.
During the seven days ended April 21, the
U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortgage Daily and OpenClose was 164. No seasonal adjustments were made.
The index, which is an indication of upcoming originations based on
average rate-lock volume by OpenClose users, rose more than 4 percent from the prior report.
A 13 percent decline, however, was recorded compared to activity in the week ended April 22, 2016.
Rate locks for purchase financing rose 5.6 percent from the last report — more than any other category and leaving the Purchase MMI at 116. Purchase activity was lower than the upwardly revised level the same week a year ago by 12 percent.
Conventional rate locks increased 5.5 percent from a week earlier, leaving the
Conventional MMI at 108.
Jumbo business was up 4 percent from the week ended April 14, 2017, and has moved higher each week since the week ended March 31, 2017. But the latest jumbo activity slipped 6 percent from the year-prior week. Rate locks for jumbo loans represented 7.3 percent of the latest and previous weeks’ overall total and 6.8 percent of activity a year earlier. Jumbo rates were 5 basis points less than conforming rates, less than the prior week’s 8 BPS. A year prior, jumbo rates were 4 BPS higher than conforming rates.
The Government MMI moved up 2 percent for the week. The up tick came despite a thinning of government share to 34.2 percent from 35.0 percent. The latest government share was comprised of a 25.3 percent FHA share and a 9.0 percent VA share.
Refinance rate locks inched up over a percent from a week earlier but fell 15 percent from the downwardly revised year earlier. Refinance share was more narrow at 29.1 percent than 30.0 percent in the last report and a downwardly revised 29.7 percent the same week during 2016. Refinance share most recently was made up of a 14.7 percent rate-term share and 14.5 percent cashout share.
Rate locks for adjustable-rate mortgages retreated 22 percent on a week-over-week basis and were down 9 percent on a year-over-year basis. ARM activity accelerated as Freddie Mac reported that in the week ended April 20, thirty-year fixed rates fell to 3.97 percent– the lowest average since November 2016.
ARM share dropped to 8.2 percent from 11.0 percent but was wider than 7.8 percent twelve months earlier.
