MBA Mortgage Applications Flat for Week Ending November 3

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey was flat for the week ending November 3, 2017. However, the Purchase Index for home mortgages rose a seasonally adjusted 1%, the first increase in 3 weeks to put the unadjusted purchase index 9% above its level a year ago.

The Market Composite Index remained unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

The Refinance Index fell 1% from the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1% from one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 49.0% of total applications from 48.7% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.6% of total applications.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) share of total applications also gained to 10.6% from 10.4% the week prior, while the Veterans Administration (VA) share of total applications gained to 10.0% from 9.9% the week prior. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) share of total applications decreased from 0.8% the week prior to 0.7%.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) fell to 4.12% from 4.16%, with points increasing to 0.24 from 0.27 (including the origination fee) for 80% 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 4.05% from 4.07%, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.94% from 3.98%, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 3.51% from 3.52%, with points unchanged at 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs remained unchanged from the week prior at 3.33%, with points increasing to 0.59 from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.