Mortgage application volume slid 28.7 percent last week as long-term interest rates rose slightly, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.
According to MBA, the seasonally adjusted decline was led by a 38.1 percent drop in the index that tracks refinance applications, followed by an 11.8 percent dip in the purchase-loan index.
As a result, the refinance share of loan applications fell to 53.4 percent from 62 percent the week before.
The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages last week edged up from 5.74 percent to 5.75 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate gained from 5.23 percent to 5.27 percent. The points that borrowers paid to attain these rates averaged 1.19 on the 30-year loans, up from 1.13 in last week’s survey, and 1.13 on the 15-year loans, down from 1.15.
Costs on adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) dipped in the survey, with the average rate on one-year ARMs sinking from 7.02 percent to 7 percent and points falling from 1.72 to 1.39. As a result, the ARM share of loan applications last week jumped to 5.4 percent from 3.8 percent the week before.
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.
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