Mortgage Application Volumes in U.S. Dip in Early September

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 11, 2015, mortgage applications decreased 7.0 percent from one week earlier. The week's results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 7.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 17 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 9 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 16 percent compared with the previous week and was 5 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The Labor Day holiday shifted from the first week in September last year to the second week this year.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 56.2 percent of total applications from 56.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.8 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 14.2 percent from 13.4 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.7 percent from 10.8 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged 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) decreased to 4.09 percent from 4.10 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.39 (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 4.04 percent from 4.03 percent, with points decreasing to 0.26 from 0.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.88 percent from 3.90 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.23 (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 3.33 percent from 3.34 percent, with points decreasing to 0.26 from 0.28 (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 increased to 3.04 percent from 3.03 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.27 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.