by Calculated Risk on 4/04/2018 07:00:00 AM
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest Weekly Survey
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications decreased 3.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 30, 2018.Click on graph for larger image.
... The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 5 percent higher than the same week one year ago. ...
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($453,100 or less) remained unchanged at 4.69 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added
The first graph shows the refinance index since 1990.
Refinance activity will not pick up significantly unless mortgage rates fall 50 bps or more from the recent level.
The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index
According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 5% year-over-year.