After three consecutive weeks of decline, new home borrowing activity saw a boost — with jumbo and refinance loans leading the week-over-week change.
For the week ended April 17, new mortgage activity was up 9 percent from seven days prior, according to the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from LoanSifter/Optimal Blue and Mortgage Daily, which landed at 189.
Providing insight into average per-user product-and-pricing inquiries by LoanSifter customers, the index was down nearly 9 percent at the end of the same week last year.
Jumbo loan activity saw a week-over-week spike of nearly 13 percent, making it the strongest performing category for the week. Recent activity also showed an almost 10 percent increase compared to the week ended April 18, 2014.
Consequently, the week-over-week change saw jumbo share rise from 10.3 percent to 10.7 percent. The share also was up from the 10.6 percent reported a year ago for the same week.
The spread between jumbo interest rates and conforming rates climbed to 16 basis points, well above the nine BPS for the week ended April 10. In 2014, in the same week, the jumbo-conforming spread was almost 16 BPS.
Inquiries for refinance loans rose 10.0 percent over last week and surged 47 percent compared to a year earlier — the strongest year-over-year performing category. Refinance share inched forward to 60.0 percent from 59.6 percent the previous week. As well, the current share increased from 44.4 percent this time last year. Included in the most recent figure were a 16.3 cashout share and a 43.8 percent rate-term share.
Climbing 9.7 percent over last week was conventional activity, which also was ahead by 4 percent from the same point in 2014.
Adjustable-rate mortgage inquiries bumped up from the prior week by 9.6 percent, yet ARM business fell 26 percent in a year-over-year comparison. This fall made ARM activity category the worst performer from 12 months ago.
ARM share for the week of 9.4 percent, however, was up from 9.3 percent a week ago but down from 13.7 percent a year ago.
The purchase market sector finally broke its declining activity streak, which started the week ended March 20. Purchase market financing was 8 percent better than the prior week. Compared to the same week 12 months earlier, however, current figures showed this category was down 22 percent.
For loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, inquiries rose just 3 percent — the weakest week-over-week gain. Recent figures, however, were 26 percent higher than this time last year. FHA share for the week fell to 18.3 percent from 19.4 percent as of April 10, but the category widened from the year earlier’s 15.7 percent.
Conforming 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.047 percent for the week — four BPS lower than last week and 61 BPS better than the same week in 2014.
Quotes for mortgage rates on 15-year home loans were 85 BPS better than rates on 30-year mortgages. Seven days prior, the spread was three BPS, and during the same time frame in 2014, the spread also was higher at 102 BPS.
According to Treasury market activity analysis by Mortgage Daily, fixed rates could see around three BPS improvement in next week’s report.
