As Rates Climb, Refinance Applications Continue to Drop in U.S.

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 8, 2015, mortgage applications decreased 3.5 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 6 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 0.1 percent compared with the previous week and was 12 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 51 percent of total applications, its lowest level since May 2014, from 52 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.3 percent of total applications. The average loan size for purchase applications rose to a survey high of $298,500.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 13.8 percent from 14.0 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications remained unchanged at 11.9 percent. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.9 percent from 0.8 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 4.00 percent, its highest level since March 2015, from 3.93 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (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 3.99 percent, its highest level since March 2015, from 3.91 percent, with points increasing to 0.33 from 0.24 (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 3.76 percent, its highest level since March 2015, from 3.70 percent, with points decreasing to 0.14 from 0.21 (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 increased to 3.23 percent, its highest level since March 2015, from 3.19 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.30 (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 3.00 percent, its highest level since March 2015, from 2.87 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.