U.S. Mortgage Applications Dip in Early December

---

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 2, 2016, mortgage applications decreased 0.7 percent from one week earlier. The prior week's results included an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 39 percent compared with the previous week. 

The Refinance Index decreased 1 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 36 percent compared with the previous week and was 3 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 56.2 percent of total applications from 55.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.0 percent of total applications, the highest level since February 2016.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 11.3 percent from 10.4 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.6 percent from 11.7 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.9 percent 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) increased to its highest level since October 2014, 4.27 percent, from 4.23 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from  0.41 (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 its highest level since September 2014, 4.22 percent, from 4.18 percent, with points unchanged at 0.29 (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 remained unchanged at its highest level since July 2015, 4.00 percent, with points decreasing to 0.38 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to its highest level since September 2014, 3.53 percent, from 3.48 percent, with points increasing to 0.39 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 its highest level since September 2013, 3.39 percent, from 3.23 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.