Although weekly mortgage application volume was solidly higher, the share of activity for loans insured by the government declined to the lowest level in 8 months. The jumbo-conforming spread thinned.
The Market Composite Index climbed a seasonally adjusted 4 percent from the preceding seven-day-period during the week ended June 1, which included Memorial Day.
But the index, a measure of retail residential loan application volume, sank 7 percent from the week ended May 25 when no seasonal adjustments are made.
Providing the index Wednesday was the Mortgage Bankers Association,
which based its findings from the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The Washington-based trade group says the survey covers more than 75 percent of all applications.
The report indicated that applications for refinances rose 4 percent from a week earlier.
The improvement came as refinance share widened to 35.6 percent from 35.3 percent. Still, refinance share was more narrow than 42.1 percent in the same-seven days last year.
Purchase-money applications ascended a seasonally adjusted 4 percent. But when seasonal factors are discounted, purchase financing activity sank 8 percent though it still accelerated 9 percent from the week ended
June 2, 2017.
At 9.7 percent,
the share of applications for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration was the most narrow it has been since it was 9.6 percent in the week ended Sept. 22, 2017. FHA share was 9.9 percent in last week’s report and 10.6 percent in the report from a year ago.
Applications for loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs made up 10.1 percent of the latest activity, more than 9.9 percent
a week prior but less than 11.1 percent a year prior.
Overall government share, including USDA mortgages, was 20.6 percent — matching the previous week’s
lowest level since the week ended Oct. 20, 2017, when it was also 20.6 percent.
Adjustable-rate mortgage applications accounted for 7.1 percent of total applications.
ARM share widened from 6.7 percent a week earlier but thinned from 7.4 percent a year earlier.
Data from the latest report indicate that interest rates on jumbo mortgages were 5 basis points more than conforming rates. The spread thinned from 11 BPS in the preceding week and
6 BPS a year previous.
