Home purchase financing activity drove overall new mortgage activity to the highest level in more than three months. Adjustable-rate activity soared by a quarter.
In the week that concluded on Nov. 11, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from OpenClose and Mortgage Daily — an indicator of upcoming originations — was 182.
The last time that the index,
which is based on average per-user rate locks by OpenClose clients, was this high was in the week ended Aug. 5, when it came in at 185.
Compared to a week earlier, the MMI increased 13 percent, while it soared 64 percent from the same week last year.
A 26 percent increase from the week ended Nov. 4 was recorded for rate locks for adjustable-rate mortgages. ARM activity, however, tumbled 22 percent from a year prior. ARM share widened to 7.7 percent from 6.9 percent but was slashed from 16.3 percent one year ago.
Rate locks for purchase-money mortgages climbed 17 percent, leaving the Purchase MMI at 106. Purchase activity has ascended 42 percent from the upwardly revised level in the week ended Nov. 13, 2015.
A 14 percent week-over-week increase was recorded for the Government MMI. Government share widened to 35.2 percent from 35.0 percent in the last report. This week’s government share consisted of a 24.6 percent FHA share and a 10.6 percent VA share.
Conventional business rose 13 percent from the last report.
Refinance rate locks were up 8 percent. Refinance activity has skyrocketed 109 percent from the downwardly revised level one year previous — giving the category the largest year-over-year increase.
Refinance share was trimmed to 41.9 percent from 44.0 percent and but fattened from the upwardly revised 33.0 percent 12 months ago. The most-recent share was comprised of a 27.5 percent rate-term share and a cashout share of 14.4 percent.
This week’s weakest category was the Jumbo MMI, which was unchanged from last week. Jumbo business leapt, though, by three-quarters from a year ago. Jumbo share was reduced to 8.3 percent from 9.4 percent but has widened from 7.8 percent a year prior.
Jumbo interest rates were 6 basis points more than conforming rates. The jumbo-conforming spread widened from 2 BPS a week earlier and swung from a negative 11 BPS a year earlier.
