Mortgage Applications in U.S. Jump in Late February

---

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 24, 2017, U.S. mortgage applications increased 5.8 percent from one week earlier. This week's results included an adjustment for the Presidents' Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 5.8 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 increased 5 percent from the previous week to its highest level since December 2016. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 5 percent lower than the same week one year ago, which did not include the Presidents' Day holiday.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 45.1 percent of total applications, its lowest level since November 2008, from 46.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 7.3 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 12.3 percent from 11.6 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.7 percent from 12.1 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.9 percent from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) decreased to 4.30 percent from 4.36 percent, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.35 (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 $424,100) decreased to 4.23 percent from 4.29 percent, with points decreasing to 0.25 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 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 4.07 percent from 4.14 percent, with points increasing to 0.37 from 0.33 (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 decreased to 3.51 percent from 3.56 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.36 (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 3.35 percent from 3.31 percent, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.