Loan originators were busier taking applications for new mortgages last week. Both purchase financing and refinancing activity accelerated.
A seasonally adjusted 2 percent increase from the previous seven-day period was recorded for the Market Composite Index for the week ended May 5, 2017.
The index, which is a measure of retail residential loan application volume, moved up 3 percent without seasonal adjustments compared to the preceding week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the index as part of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, which reportedly covers more than three-quarters of all mortgage applications.
Applications for loans to refinance an existing mortgage rose 3 percent from the week ended April 28, 2017. Refinances accounted for 41.9 percent of all activity. Refinance share widened from 41.6 percent a week earlier
but thinned from 52.8 percent a year earlier.
Applications for mortgages to finance a home purchase were up 2 percent on a week-over-week basis to the highest level since October 2015. Foregoing seasonal adjustments, purchase-money volume was still up 2 percent and climbed 6 percent from the week ended May 6, 2016.
Federal Housing Administration-insured loan applications accounted for 10.5 percent of overall volume. FHA share widened from 10.4 percent the previous week but was off from 13.0 percent the same week in 2016.
The share of applications that were for loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs was 10.8 percent, the same as the prior week but more narrow than 11.7 percent one year previous.
Jumbo interest rates were a basis point lower than conforming rates. The jumbo-conforming spread thinned from a negative 5 BPS one week prior and a negative 8 BPS one year prior.
MBA said that
8.2 percent of all applications during the most-recent week were for adjustable-rate mortgages. ARM share was more narrow than 8.4 percent in the prior report but wider than 5.7 percent a year prior.
