Mortgage Applications in U.S. Dip in Late December

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 29, 2017, Mortgage applications decreased 2.8 percent from two weeks earlier. The results include adjustments to account for the Christmas holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from two weeks earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 42 percent compared with two weeks ago.

The Refinance Index decreased 7 percent from two weeks ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent from two weeks earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 40 percent compared with two weeks ago and was 3 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

While the index changes were calculated relative to two weeks prior, the following compositional and rate measures are presented relative to the previous week only.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 52.0 percent of total applications from 51.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.3 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 10.4 percent from 10.3 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.2 percent from 10.6 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.8 percent from 0.7 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) remained unchanged from the week prior at 4.25 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (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 $424,100) decreased to 4.13 percent from 4.21 percent, with points increasing to 0.21 from 0.20 (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 4.17 percent from 4.15 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.37 (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 3.65 percent from 3.66 percent, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.37 (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 decreased to 3.40 percent from 3.56 percent, with points increasing to 0.73 from 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.