Mortgage Applications Dip in U.S. Amidst Rising Rates

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 16, 2018, mortgage applications in the U.S. decreased 6.6 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 6.6 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 7 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 3 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to its lowest level since July 2017, 44.4 percent of total applications, from 46.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.4 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 9.9 percent from 10.1 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.0 percent from 10.1 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) increased to its highest level since January 2014, 4.64 percent, from 4.57 percent, with points increasing to 0.61 from 0.59 (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 $453,100) increased to its highest level since January 2014, 4.62 percent, from 4.55 percent, with points increasing to 0.50 from 0.47 (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 its highest level since April 2011, 4.58 percent, from 4.54 percent, with points decreasing to 0.71 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 increased to its highest level since April 2011, 4.02 percent, from 4.00 percent, with points increasing to 0.66 from 0.65 (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 decreased to 3.72 percent from 3.74 percent, with points increasing to 0.39 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.