Refinance, Purchase Mortgage Applications in U.S. Uptick in Late July

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 31, 2015, mortgage applications increased 4.7 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 6 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 23 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

"Despite recent concerns about the economy, both purchase and refinance applications increased strongly in response to lower interest rates last week," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "Refinance activity was the highest since May when rates were last at this level. The increase in purchase activity was also notable for this time of year, up 23 percent relative to a year ago."

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 51.3 percent of total applications from 50.6 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.8 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.8 percent from 13.7 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.5 percent from 10.9 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.13 percent, its lowest level since May 2015, from 4.17 percent, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.36 (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 $417,000) decreased to 4.08 percent, its lowest level since May 2015, from 4.12 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.35 (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 decreased to 3.96 percent from 3.98 percent, with points decreasing to 0.22 from 0.26 (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 3.36 percent, its lowest level since May 2015, from 3.39 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 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 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.02 percent, its lowest level since May 2015, from 3.04 percent, with points increasing to 0.43 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate was unchanged from last week.