Rising interest rates last week took a bite out of overall mortgage application volume, although that didn’t stop folks from refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.
The market composite index, which measures total home loan volume, sank 0.6 percent, falling to 667.2 last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from 671.1 one week earlier.
Loans to purchase homes reported a decrease in activity, as the seasonally adjusted purchase index declined 7 percent last week from the week before. The refinance index, however, jumped 6.3 percent from the week before, boosting the refi share of total applications to 49.9 percent.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share also gained during the period, rising to 21.2 percent of total applications.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.19 percent from 6.13 percent, with points including the origination fee increasing to 0.98 from 0.94 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans. Points, which are fees charged by lenders for loan processing, are expressed as a percent of the total loan amount.
The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.92 percent from 5.85 percent, with points increasing to 0.99 from 0.98 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.
Average rates for one-year ARMs increased to 5.85 percent from 5.79 percent, with points decreasing to 0.81 from 0.83.
The Mortgage Bankers Association survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.
