Mortgage Application Volumes in U.S. Slightly Uptick 1.7%

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 4, mortgage applications increased 1.7 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2.0 percent compared with the previous week.  Increases to the seasonally adjusted Market Composite and Purchase indices were driven by increases in their Conventional components.  Application activity within the Government market decreased for both of these measures from last week.

Likewise, the Refinance Index increased 1.3 percent from the previous week, driven by a 1.8 percent increase to the Conventional Refinance Index, while the Government Refinance Index decreased 2.3 percent.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3.4 percent from one week earlier, spurred by a 5.4 percent increase in the seasonally adjusted Conventional Purchase Index. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3.8 percent compared with the previous week and was 0.4 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 1.13 percent.  The four week moving average is down 0.82 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 1.81 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 72.1 percent of total applications from 72.6 percent the previous week.  This is the lowest refinance share since April 6, 2012.  The government purchase share decreased over the week from 37.0 percent to 35.8 percent of all purchase applications.  This is the lowest government purchase share since March 27, 2009.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 4.01 percent from 4.05 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.  This is the lowest 30-year fixed interest rate recorded in the history of the survey.   The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 4.29 percent from 4.32 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.81 percent from 3.80 percent, with points decreasing to 0.45 from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.29 percent from 3.31 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  This is the lowest 15-year fixed interest rate recorded in the history of the survey.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.83 percent from 2.87 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.