MBA Mortgage Applications Decline for the Week Ending July 28

The Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) said the Market Composite Index decreased by 2.8% for the week ending July 28, missing the 0.4 median forecast.

The Refinance Index decreased 4% from the previous week to the lowest level since March 2017. 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 9% higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgages decreased to 45.5% of total applications, down from 46.0% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity fell to 6.6% of total applications.

The share of total applications from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) increased to 10.3%, up from 10.2% the week prior. The Veterans Administration (VA) share of total applications fell to 10.1%, down from 10.5% the week prior. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8%.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) remained unchanged at 4.17 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.40 (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) increased to 4.11 percent from 4.06 percent, with points increasing to 0.25 from 0.24 (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 4.07 percent from 4.05 percent, with points decreasing to 0.35 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 remained unchanged at 3.45 percent, with points decreasing to 0.44 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.30 percent from 3.29 percent, with points increasing to 0.29 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased 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.