U.S. Mortgage Applications Spike 8 Percent in Advance of Rate Hikes

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 5, 2015, mortgage applications increased 8.4 percent from one week earlier. The previous week's results included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 19 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 7 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 10 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 20 percent compared with the previous week and was 15 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

"Mortgage application volume rebounded strongly in the week following the Memorial Day holiday, indicating that the holiday had a larger impact on business activity than originally assumed.  Comparing volume over the past two weeks, purchase activity is up over 6 percent, while refinance activity is down 5 percent. Strong job gains in May and initial signs of wage growth are supporting the purchase market," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's Chief Economist. 

The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 49 percent of total applications from previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.3 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 14.3 percent from 14.9 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.5 percent from 12.0 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 1.1 percent from 1.0 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 4.17 percent, its highest level since November 2014, from 4.02 percent, with points increasing to 0.38 from  0.33 (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 4.15 percent, its highest level since October 2014, from 4.01 percent, with points increasing to 0.37 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 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.90 percent, its highest level since November 2014, from 3.77 percent, with points decreasing to 0.19 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 3.37 percent, its highest level since November 2014, from 3.27 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.33 (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 3.06 percent from 2.97 percent, with points remaining unchanged from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.