Mortgage applications continue to swing up and down, falling 4% from one week earlier, according to the newest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Aug. 12, 2016.
The news comes after last week’s rise, which was driven by a surge in refinance applications. The week before that, however, also posted a decline.
The Refinance Index reversed course after last week’s rise and decreased 4% from the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4% from one week earlier to the lowest level since February 2016. However, it is still 10% higher than the same week last year.
Broken up, the refinance share of mortgage activity barely increased, moving to 62.6% of total applications from 62.4% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.6% of total applications.
The Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications fell to 9.6% from 10% the week prior. The Veteran Affairs’ share of total applications increased to 13.2% from 13% the week prior. The United States Department of Agriculture share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.6% from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) slightly dipped to 3.64% from 3.65%.
Similarly, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.6% from 3.64%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.49% from 3.52%.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 2.9% from 2.93%, while the average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.85% from 2.81%.
