Mortgage applications remained largely unchanged compared to last week
The seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 1% from a week earlier, while the unadjusted purchase index rose 7% in the same period. The unadjusted purchasing index was up 2% year-on-year.
“The volume of mortgage applications was little changed over the past week, but there was a small increase in conventional purchase volume, leaving the level of total purchase volume almost 2% higher than at this time last year,” said Mike Fratantoni, SVP and chief economist from MBA. . “Mortgage rates remained near 7%, an important psychological level that will likely continue to slow the pace of activity in both refinancing and purchasing. Incoming economic data will likely keep the Federal Reserve on hold for now, while economic policy uncertainties will likely keep longer-term interest rates, including mortgage rates, at these levels.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 40.4% of total applications from 42.7% the week before, indicating a declining desire to refinance. However, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity rose to 5.5% of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications fell slightly to 16.5%, compared to 16.9% the week before. The VA share of total applications fell to 14.6% from 15.7% the week before. Finally, USDA’s share of total applications fell to 0.4% from 0.5% the week before.
