Although long-term interest rates for residential loans turned slightly higher, new mortgage business soared to the highest level in 15 months. Jumbo activity had the biggest gain.
Mortgage Daily’s U.S. Mortgage Market Index, a reflection of average per-user rate-lock volume at clients of OpenClose, was reported at 209 for the week ended July 15.
New mortgage activity — which turned out to be the strongest it’s been since the week ended March 20, 2015 — increased by more than a quarter versus the previous week.
Compared to the same week last year, the index made a whopping 64 percent gain.
Jumbo activity experienced the largest week-over-week improvement, soaring 73 percent from the week ended July 8. The Jumbo MMI was up 28 percent from the same week in 2015. Jumbo share widened to 8.6 percent from 6.3 percent but was thinner than 11.1 percent this week last year.
The jumbo-conforming spread grew to 14 basis points from 12 basis points but swung from a negative 20 BPS in the year-earlier period.
At 48, the FHA MMI was up 41 percent compared to the last report and soared 79 percent from the year-earlier report. FHA share was 22.8 percent, wider than 20.3 percent the prior week and 20.9 percent a year prior.
The method utilized to determine refinance share in the Mortgage Market Index report, which was originally designed to provide a seamless transition between data providers, has been improved. As a result, refinance data and purchase data have been revised going back to the week ended June 26, 2015.
The revision had the effect of reducing refinance share for the week ended July 8, 2016, from 70.4 percent originally reported to 34.9 percent using the new methodology — a level more in line with the 37 percent refinance share reported for May by Ellie Mae Inc.
Rate locks for refinances rose 40 percent from the revised prior week
and skyrocketed 148 percent from revised figure for the week ended July 17, 2015. Refinance share leapt to 39.0 percent from a revised 34.9 percent a week earlier and a revised 25.8 percent a year earlier. The latest week’s share consisted of a 24.1 percent rate-term share and a 14.9 percent cashout share.
The Purchase MMI was 127 this week, a 17 percent improvement from the revised level the prior week and a more than one-third improvement on a revised year-over-year basis.
A 31 percent increase from the
previous week was observed for rate locks on adjustable-rate mortgages, while ARM business rose 5 percent from a year previous. ARM share widened to 6.4 percent from 6.2 percent but was much thinner than 10.0 percent 12 months ago.
Conventional activity rose by 22 percent, the smallest week-over-week gain of any category, and was 60 percent stronger than a year ago.
Thirty-year fixed rates averaged 3.42 percent in the latest week, up a basis point from the last report but 67 BPS better than a year earlier.
Fifteen-year rates were 70 BPS less than 30-year rates. The spread widened from 67 BPS but was slashed from 84 BPS one year ago.
Fixed rates are likely to be
around 13 BPS higher in the next Mortgage Market Index report based on a Mortgage Daily analysis of Treasury market activity.
