Mortgage Applications Decrease in U.S. as Rates Start Uptick

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 3, mortgage applications decreased 1.8 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from a week earlier.  The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 12 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity was unchanged from last week at 81 percent of total applications. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.0 percent from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased to 3.76 percent from 3.75 percent, with points decreasing to 0.46 from 0.51 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.  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) increased to 4.04 percent from 4.01 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.32 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.54 percent from 3.52 percent, with points decreasing to 0.49 from 0.55 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.08 percent from 3.09 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.49 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.72 percent from 2.73 percent, with points decreasing to 0.40 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.