As was the case in the previous seven-day period, a decline in the volume of applications for mortgage refinances more than offset an increase in purchase activity.
The Market Composite Index, dipped less than a percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior report in the week ended Sept. 29.
Foregoing seasonal factors, a 1 percent decline was still recorded for the index, a measure of retail residential loan application volume.
The findings were derived from the
Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. More than three-quarters of all applications are reportedly covered by the survey.
A 2 percent week-over-week drop was tracked for refinance applications — the third consecutive week refinances have retreated. Refinances made up 50.1 percent of all applications. Refinance share thinned from 50.8 percent in the week ended Sept. 22 and was slashed from 63.8 percent in the same seven days last year.
MBA reported that a seasonally adjusted 1 percent gain from a week earlier was made for applications to finance a home purchase. Without seasonal adjustments, purchase activity was still up 1 percent from a week earlier and 5 percent higher than a year earlier.
The survey had applications for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration accounting for 10.0 percent of the weekly total, thickening from a 9.6 percent share the prior week but the same as a year prior.
Applications for loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs also made up a 10th of the weekly total, no different than in the last report but more narrow than 11.4 percent in the same week during 2016.
Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 6.0 percent total activity, thinning from 6.5 percent in the week ended Sept. 22
but still wider than 4.5 percent in the year-prior report.
At 4.09 percent, average rates on jumbo mortgages were 3 basis points lower than conforming rates. The jumbo-conforming spread thinned from a negative 5 BPS the previous week
but widened from a negative 2 BPS in the same week the previous year.
