Recent Updates
- US: FHFA HPI (Nov)
- US: Philadelphia Fed Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook (Jan)
- IMF: IMF World Economic Outlook (Jan 2021)
- Mexico: Service Sector, Retail & Wholesale Trade (Nov)
- Israel: Exports of Services (Nov)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Chicago Fed National Activity Index Improves During December
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's National Activity Index increased to 0.52 during December...
German IFO Gauge Weakens Again
The IFO climate diffusion gauge fell to -0.6 in January...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Edge Up in December; 2020 Sales Are Highest Since 2006
The NAR reported that sales of existing homes rose 0.7% (22.2% y/y) during December...
Composite PMIs...the Best of Times; the Worst of Times-Really?
PMI data now rank observations on their range of values since December 2016...
U.S. Housing Starts Rise Again in December
Housing starts increased 5.8% (5.2% y/y) during December to 1.669 million...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller February 21, 2018
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Volume Index declined 6.6% last week (+0.4% y/y) and added to the prior week's 4.1% fall. Purchase loan applications dropped 6.2% (+4.0% y/y), about the same as during the prior week. Applications to refinance fell 7.1% (-3.6% y/y) following a 1.9% decline.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage remained elevated at 4.18%. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan increased to 4.82%. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan rose to 4.76%. For adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate was stable w/w at 3.87%.
The average mortgage loan size was fairly stable at $291,900, up 5.3% y/y. For purchases, the average loan size was $315,800 (1.4% y/y); for refinancings, it eased to $262,000 (+10.2% y/y).
Applications for adjustable-rate loans declined 11.0% y/y, while applications for fixed-rate loans rose 1.3% y/y.
The survey covers over 75% 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) | 02/16/18 | 02/09/18 | 02/02/18 | Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | -6.6 | -4.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | -17.8 | 15.6 | 17.9 |
Purchase | -6.2 | -5.9 | -0.0 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 13.3 | 15.5 |
Refinancing | -7.1 | -1.9 | 0.9 | -3.6 | -34.0 | 17.3 | 19.7 |
15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 4.18 | 4.17 | 4.09 | 3.63 (Feb '17) | 3.59 | 3.22 | 3.37 |