Applications for home loans slowed down this past week, and it was applications for loans to finance home purchases that saw the biggest drop.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the
Market Composite Index for the week ended Dec. 11 fell a little more than one percent from a week earlier.
The index, which is an indication of residential loan application activity, declined two percent from the last report without any seasonal adjustments.
The index was included as part of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s
Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Refinance applications strengthened by a seasonally adjusted one percent from the previous week.
Refinance share, meanwhile, widened to 60.7 percent from 58.7 percent.
The trade group reported that
applications for purchase financing slowed by three percent.
The week-over-week decline in purchase activity was seven percent without seasonal adjustments, though there was a more than one-third year-over-year improvement.
MBA said that applications for adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for six percent of overall activity in the latest report. ARM share slipped from 6.2 percent seven days earlier.
Applications for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration represented 14.0 percent of total applications, the same one week prior.
Loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs garnered 11.2 percent of total applications. VA share rose from 10.8 percent.
Jumbo mortgage rates were
13 basis points less than rates on conforming loans. The jumbo-conforming spread widened from a negative 12 BPS in the prior week’s report.
