U.S. Mortgage Applications Increase in July

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 6, 2018, U.S. mortgage applications increased 2.5 percent from one week earlier. This week's results included an adjustment for the 2018 Fourth of July holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 18 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week to its lowest level since December 2000. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 15 percent compared with the previous week and was 8 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to its lowest level since August 2008, 34.8 percent of total applications, from 37.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.3 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 10.0 percent from 10.2 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.3 percent from 10.7 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($453,100 or less) decreased to 4.76 percent from 4.79 percent, with points increasing to 0.43 from 0.41 (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 $453,100) decreased to 4.68 percent from 4.71 percent, with points decreasing to 0.24 from 0.43 (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 increased to 4.80 percent from 4.78 percent, with points increasing to 0.75 from 0.73 (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 4.18 percent from 4.22 percent, with points decreasing to 0.46 from 0.47 (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 its highest level in the history of the survey, 4.13 percent, from 4.03 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.25 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week. MBA began tracking interest rates on 5/1 ARMs in January 2011.