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German PPI Accelerates
The German year-on-year PPI has generally been decelerating since early 2017...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Signal Continued Expansion
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.3% during March...
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Improve; Prices Jump
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rose to 23.2 during April...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Are Little Changed
Initial unemployment insurance claims slipped to 232,000 (-6.1% y/y) during the week ended April 14...
U.K. Retail Sales Fall
U.K. GDP is expected to cool its jets when the first quarter GDP number is released...
by Tom Moeller May 28, 2014
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 1.2% last week (-49.8% y/y) and retraced the earlier week's rise. Applications remained two-thirds below the peak in September 2012. Applications to refinance an existing loan were off 1.4% (-61.9% y/y) while home purchase applications declined 1.1% (-15.4% y/y).
The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage slipped again, last week to 3.44%, the lowest level since June of last year. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan edged down to 4.36%, also the lowest level since June of last year. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan ticked up to 4.28%. For adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate fell to 3.20%, its lowest since early-November.
The average mortgage loan size increased further to $253,000, the highest level since late-2008. The average loan size for home purchases edged up to $279,900 and for refinancings it increased to $228,300.
Applications for fixed interest rate loans declined 51.4% y/y while adjustable rate loan applications were off by 21.7% y/y.
The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. The figures for weekly mortgage applications and interest rates are available in Haver's SURVEYW database.
MBA Mortgage Applications (SA, 3/16/90=100) | 05/23/14 | 05/16/14 | 05/09/14 | Y/Y% | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | 362.2 | 366.5 | 363.4 | -49.8 | 616.6 | 813.8 | 572.3 |
Purchase | 178.1 | 180.0 | 185.1 | -15.4 | 197.5 | 187.8 | 182.6 |
Refinancing | 1,418.6 | 1,438.9 | 1,386.4 | -61.9 | 3,070.0 | 4,505.0 | 2,858.4 |
15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.44 | 3.47 | 3.51 | 3.08 (5/13) |
3.42 | 3.25 | 3.97 |