After barely dropping in the prior report, mortgage applications ticked back up and increased 2.3% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Feb 3, 2017.
The Refinance Index increased 2% from the previous week, as the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% from one week earlier.
Meanwhile, the refinance share of mortgage applications hit a record low, falling to 47.9% of total applications. This marks its lowest level since June 2009. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 6.9% of total applications.
The Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications decreased to 11.9% from 12.1% the week prior. The Veteran Affairs’ share of total applications increased to 12.7% from 12.4% the week prior. The United States Department of Agriculture’s share of total applications stayed frozen at 0.9%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,000 or less) decreased to 4.35% from 4.39%.
Similarly, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,000) decreased to 4.27% from 4.32%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA dropped to 4.16% from 4.17%, while the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.55% from 3.61%.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.39% from 3.33%.