Mortgage Applications Dip in Early April

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 5, 2019, U.S. mortgage applications decreased 5.6 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 5 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 11 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 13 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

"Mortgage rates inched back up last week, but remain substantially lower than they were in the second half of last year," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. "As quickly as refinance activity increased in recent weeks, it backed down again in response to the rise in rates. However, this spring's lower borrowing costs, coupled with the strong job market, continue to push purchase application volume much higher. Purchase applications are now up more than 13 percent compared to last year at this time."

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 44.1 percent of total applications from 47.4 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.6 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 9.6 percent from 8.8 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.1 percent from 10.4 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.6 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) increased to 4.40 percent from 4.36 percent, with points increasing to 0.47 from 0.44 (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 $484,350) increased to 4.28 percent from 4.21 percent, with points increasing to 0.28 from 0.25 (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 4.42 percent from 4.41 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.48 (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 3.83 percent from 3.78 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.40 (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 3.78 percent from 3.77 percent, with points decreasing to 0.26 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.