New mortgage activity came roaring back from the holiday week. Refinances led the week-over-week recovery, while jumbo business has more than quintupled on a year-over-year basis.
At 171, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from LoanSifter/Optimal Blue and Mortgage Daily ended the week of Dec. 5 at 41 percent more than seven days earlier.
The index, which tracks average per-user product-and-pricing inquiries by LoanSifter clients, was off 8 percent compared to the same week last year.
Refinances led the rebound from the Thanksgiving week, surging 47 percent from the week ended Nov. 28. Refinance activity was also up from a year earlier — rising 22 percent.
Refinance share widened to 57.9 percent from 55.5 percent in the last report and was fatter than 43.5 percent in the same week during 2013. The most-recent share was comprised of a 41.6 percent rate-term share and a 16.4 percent cashout share.
The next-biggest mover was the Federal Housing Administration category, with inquiries for FHA-insured loans jumping 43 percent. FHA business, however, tumbled 44 percent from the week ended Dec. 6, 2013. FHA share inched up to 14.3 percent from 14.1 percent but has thinned considerably from 23.5 percent in the year-earlier report.
Close behind government inquiries were conventional inquiries, which shot up 42 percent from a week previous. Conventional business, however, has softened by 4 percent compared to 12 months previous.
Pricing inquiries for adjustable-rate mortgages moved up more than 37 percent from the last report and have soared 162 percent over the past year. ARM share slipped to 11.1 percent from 11.4 percent but has fattened from just 3.9 percent in the year-earlier report.
Jumbo activity strengthened nearly 37 over the prior week and has exploded compared to the same week last year — increasing 416 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Of all pricing inquiries in the latest report, 10.4 percent were for jumbo mortgages. Jumbo share dipped from 10.7 percent a week previous but was wider than only 1.9 percent one year prior.
The difference between jumbo and conforming interest rates tumbled to 6 basis points from 15 BPS in the previous report and 85 BPS in the year-earlier report.
The smallest week-over-week gain was made with inquiries for purchase financing, which were up a third from the previous week. But purchase activity has fallen by nearly that fraction compared to the same week in 2013.
A 3-basis-point drop from the prior report left conforming 30-year fixed rates averaging 4.279 percent. Thirty-year rates have retreated 25 BPS from one year prior.
Fifteen-year rates were 88 BPS less than 30-year rates. The spread wasn’t as good as 94 BPS one week earlier and 95 BPS one year earlier.
Mortgage rates could be approximately 4 BPS higher in the next Mortgage Market Index report based on Treasury market activity. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note averaged 2.27 percent during the week covered by the latest report, while it rose to 2.31 percent Friday.
The 10-year yield surged 6 BPS on Friday thanks to a strong employment report.
