Applications for refinancings were up 7.2 percent while demand for purchase loans was essentially flat, rising 0.9 percnet for the week ending July 31, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Overall, mortgage applications were up 4.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week earlier, the MBA said.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 54.2 percent of total applications from 52.6 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent of total applications the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.17 percent from 5.36 percent, with points increasing to 1.02 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.6 percent from 4.75 percent, with points decreasing to 1 from 1.14 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.67 percent from 6.66 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.09 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
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