MBA Mortgage Applications Increase 0.4% for Week Ending July 21

The Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) said the Market Composite Index increased by just 0.4% for the week ending July 21, the smallest gain since since May.

The Refinance Index gained 3% from the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 2% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index fell 2% compared with the previous week but was still 8% higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgages gained to 46.0% of total applications, up from 44.7% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity gained to 6.8% of total applications.

The share of total applications from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) fell to 10.2%, down from 10.7% the week prior. The Veterans Administration (VA) share of total applications fell to 10.5%, down from 10.7% the week prior. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) share of total applications gained to 0.8% from 0.7% the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) decreased to 4.17 percent from 4.22 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.31 (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 4.06 percent from 4.18 percent, with points decreasing to 0.24 from 0.30 (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 4.05 percent from 4.10 percent, with points increasing to 0.44 from 0.30 (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 3.45 percent from 3.48 percent, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.39 (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 3.29 percent from 3.32 percent, with points increasing to 0.26 from 0.21 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, which has been conducted every week since 1990, covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.