Mixed Mortgage Data

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.37%, tumbling 5 basis points from a week ago, though 7 BPS higher than the level a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s latest survey of 125 mortgage-lending companies, thrifts and commercial banks.

Freddie Chief Economist Frank Nothaft noted that mortgage rates eased slightly after increasing three weeks as the “initial effects of the credit market turmoil that began in August are starting to emerge in housing statistics,” including new homes sales falling that month to the slowest pace in more than seven years, pending existing home sales decreasing to the lowest level on record, and the median sales price experiencing the largest annual decline in 37 years.

Mortgage rates will remain relatively unchanged over the next month and a half, according to 45 of the 100 mortgage industry panelists surveyed by Bankrate.com. The rest of the panelists were almost evenly split among those who forecast rates will rise or fall.

For the quarter, the 30-year will average anywhere from 6.4% to 6.6%, according to the latest forecasts of Freddie, Fannie Mae, National Association of Realtors and Mortgage Bankers Association, with this last group forecasting the higher average.

The 15-year reportedly came in at 6.03%, off 6 BPS from last week.

The guiding yield for long-term mortgage rates, that of the 10-year Treasury note, was at 4.52% around noon, 5 BPS lower than a week earlier.

At 6.11%, the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage average edged down 4 BPS within the past seven days, Freddie said.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM average was reported at 5.58%, just 2 BPS under the level last week. The weekly decline — 6 BPS to 4.10% on Tuesday — was more notable in the 1-year Treasury bill yield, according to Federal Reserve data.

Another ARM index, the 6-month LIBOR, yielded 5.16% as of Tuesday, Bankrate.com reported.

Accordingly, the ARM share of application activity rose to 14% from a four-year low of 12% during the week ending Sept. 28, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.

Overall, originators completed 3% fewer applications than in the prior week, as refinance requests decreased 4% and purchase money application demand diminished by 2%, according to MBA’s latest Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, which reportedly covers approximately half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations.

The refinance share of applications continued at 46%, MBA said.