Loan originators downshifted heading into the holiday weekend, with conventional activity taking the biggest hit. The already negative jumbo-conforming spread widened further.
The U.S. Mortgage Market Index from LoanSifter-Optimal Blue and Mortgage Daily for the week ended May 23 landed just shy of 186.
The index, which moves based on average per-user pricing inquiries at LoanSifter, dropped 4 percent from the previous week. Activity has fallen 30 percent from the same week in 2013.
Out front of this week’s decline were inquiries for conventional mortgages, falling 6.9 percent from the week ended May 16. Conventional business was down 39 percent from one year ago.
Close behind were inquiries for adjustable-rate mortgages, which fell 6.8 percent from a week earlier. Still, ARM activity has nearly doubled over the past year. ARM share fell to 12.8 percent from 13.2 percent but has more than doubled from 4.5 percent a year earlier.
Refinance activity dropped nearly 5 percent from the previous report and was down by nearly half in the same week during the previous year. Refinance share dipped to 46.7 percent from 46.9 percent and has significantly thinned from 64.5 percent in the year-earlier report. The May 23 share was comprised of a 32.9 percent rate-term share and a 13.8 percent cashout share.
A 4 percent decline was recorded for purchase inquiries, though purchase financing activity has risen 6 percent over the past year.
Jumbo business was off less than 2 percent from the prior week but 42 percent higher than the same week last year. Jumbo share inched up to 10.6 percent from 10.3 percent seven days earlier and 5.2 percent 12 months earlier.
Jumbo mortgages were priced 10 basis points less than conforming rates, widening from the negative seven-basis-point spread the previous week. Jumbo rates were 26 BPS higher than conforming rates in the year-earlier report.
The best performing category in the latest report was Federal Housing Administration-insured loans, which crept up 1 percent but remain 28 percent below a year ago. FHA share climbed to 15.6 percent from 14.8 percent in the last report and 15.3 percent one year prior.
Conforming 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.515 percent, improving from 4.528 percent the prior week. The average was 3.910 percent in the same week last year.
Fifteen-year mortgage rates were 101 BPS better than 30-year rates. The spread widened from 99 BPS one week earlier and 77 BPSÂ one year earlier.
No change in mortgage rates is likely in the next report according to Mortgage Daily’s analysis of Treasury market activity. The 10-year yield averaged 2.54 percent during the week covered by the latest report, while the 10-year yield closed at 2.54 percent on Friday, according to Treasury Department data.
