Mortgage Applications in U.S. Dip in Mid-February

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 13, 2015, mortgage applications decreased 13.2 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 13.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 12 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 16 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 1 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

"Mortgage rates increased to their highest level since the beginning of the year last week, and application volume dropped sharply as a result, particularly for refinances. The market index declined to its lowest level since the week ending January 2nd as purchase application activity decreased seven percent and refinance applications decreased 16 percent. Refinance volume fell particularly for larger loans, as evidenced by the decline of almost $25,000 in the average loan size for a refinance loan," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's Chief Economist.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 66 percent of total applications from 69 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.3 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 15.2 percent this week from 14.1 percent last week. The VA share of total applications decreased to 8.0 percent this week from 8.3 percent last week. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.9 percent from 0.7 percent last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.93 percent from 3.84 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 3.92 percent from 3.90 percent, with points increasing to 0.28 from 0.19 (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 3.73 percent from 3.72 percent, with points decreasing to 0.12 from 0.13 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.24 percent from 3.15
percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.09 percent from 3.07 percent, with points increasing to 0.47 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.