There was little change in new mortgage activity as rates remained near their week-earlier levels. Jumbo business, however, accelerated.
At 165 for the week ended March 7, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from LoanSifter and Mortgage Daily was up less than 1 percent from a week earlier.
The index, which reflects average per-user pricing inquiries at LoanSifter, has fallen 36 percent from a year earlier. The prior-year figures were adjusted to reflect numbers from the same data provider.
Jumbo mortgage inquiries were up 8 percent from the week ended Feb. 28, the best improvement of any category. Jumbo activity was 13 percent stronger than in the same week last year.
Increased jumbo business reflected a jumbo share that widened to 10.4 percent form 9.7 percent. Jumbo share has nearly doubled over the past 12 months, increasing from 5.9 percent.
Interest rates on jumbo loans were 8 basis points higher than on conforming mortgages in the latest report. The jumbo-conforming spread worsened from 6 BPS in the last report but was way down from 24 BPS in the week ended March 8, 2013.
The next best performance was delivered by inquiries for Federal Housing Administration-insured loans, which rose 2 percent from seven days prior. FHA business, however, has fallen 42 percent from a year prior.
FHA share moved up to 15.6 percent from 15.4 percent last week but has tumbled from 17.2 percent in the same week last year.
Pricing inquiries for purchase financing rose nearly 2 percent from the previous report and were 11 percent better than a year earlier.
Adjustable-rate mortgage activity slipped less than a percent but was up 81 percent on a year-over-year basis. ARM share drifted down to 13.6 percent from 13.7 percent but was well above the 4.9 percent share in place one year ago.
Inquiries for refinances were also off less than 1 percent over the prior seven days, though refinance business has tumbled 56 percent over the prior 12 months.
Refinance share was thinner this week at 46.8 percent versus 47.3 percent in the last report and 69.1 percent in the year-earlier report. The latest share reflected a 32.7 percent rate-term share and a 14.1 percent cashout share.
The weakest week-over-week performance came from conventional loans, though inquiries were off less than a percent. Conventional business has fallen 41 percent over the past year.
Thirty-year fixed rates averaged 4.648 percent, barely changed from 4.647 percent last week. But 30-year rates were much higher than 3.817 percent in the year-earlier report.
Fifteen-year mortgages became more attractive, with 15-year rates coming in 102 BPS better than 30-year rates. The spread was 101 BPS a week earlier and 73 BPS a year earlier.
Mortgage rates could be around 9 BPS worse in the next Mortgage Market Index report based on Treasury market activity this week.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note averaged 2.71 percent during the period covered by the latest report, while it closed at 2.80 percent on Friday, according to Treasury Department data.
