Real Estate Daily Market Update: March 21, 2018

We’ll add more market news briefs throughout the day. Check back to read the latest.

Most recent market news

Wednesday, March 21

Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week.
The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent from one week earlier.
The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 6 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to its lowest level since September 2008, 38.5 percent of total applications, from 40.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.0 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 10.3 percent from 10.4 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.7 percent from 10.3 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($453,100 or less) decreased to 4.68 percent from 4.69 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $453,100) remained unchanged at 4.55 percent, with points increasing to 0.37 from 0.33 (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 decreased to 4.69 percent from 4.73 percent, with points increasing to 0.81 from 0.76 (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 increased to its highest level since April 2011, 4.12 percent, from 4.07 percent, with points increasing to 0.51 from 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.83 percent from 3.93 percent, with points increasing to 0.68 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

News from earlier this week

Tuesday, March 20

MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding, Q4, 2017

The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding at the end of 2017 was $3.18 trillion, $200.3 billion higher than at the end of 2016, or an increase of 6.7 percent, according to MBA’s latest Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding report released today.
The fourth quarter of 2017 saw an increase of $73.6 billion, or 2.4 percent, over the third quarter, as all four of the major investor groups increased their holdings.
Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to $1.26 trillion, an increase of $41.6 billion, or 3.4 percent, from the third of quarter of 2017.

“Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding continued to grow in 2017, albeit at a slightly slower rate than overall property values,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research.

“Even so, 2017 marked the strongest year for mortgage debt growth since 2007, with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA leading the market, followed by banks, life companies and real estate investment trusts. The commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market, which saw a decline for the year as a whole, turned a corner and added $9 billion during the fourth quarter.”

Download the full report here.

Bankrate mortgage rates

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 4.33 percent, an increase of 1 basis point since the same time last week. A month ago, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was lower, at 4.31 percent.
The average 15-year fixed-mortgage rate is 3.75 percent, up 2 basis points over the last week.