Recent Updates
- Denmark: Retail Tendancy Survey (Jun)
- Singapore: Domestic Supply Price Index (May)
- Finland: Tourist Arrivals (May)
- Estonia: Deposits (May)
- Thailand: Industrial Production (May)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. FHFA House Prices Continued to Rise in April
The FHFA House Price Index increased 1.6% during April...
U.S. Advance Trade Deficit Narrowed Slightly in May
The advance estimate of the U.S. international trade deficit in goods narrowed to $104.3 billion in May...
U.S. Energy Prices Decline
The AAA retail price of gasoline fell seven cents to $4.94 per gallon (+60.4% y/y) in the week ended June 24...
French Consumer Worries Intensify in the Wake of Russia Attack
French confidence is weak in June 2022...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Firm in May
Manufacturers' new orders for durable goods exhibited unexpected improvement in May...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller October 24, 2018
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index rose 4.9% (-15.6% y/y) in the week ending October 19 following declines during the prior two weeks. Purchase loan applications improved 2.0% (0.2% y/y) after a 5.9% drop, while applications to refinance recovered 9.7% (-32.3% y/y) and reversed the prior week's decline.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage held steady at 4.64%, up sharply from 3.01% averaged in July 2016. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan stabilized at 5.26%. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan was 5.09% and for adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate jumped to 4.61%.
The average mortgage loan size rose to $292,400 ( 2.0% y/y). For purchases, the average loan size increased to $308,800 (-2.6% y/y); for refinancings, it jumped to $267,700 (4.7% y/y).
Applications for fixed-rate loans fell 16.2% y/y while applications for adjustable-rate loans declined 7.3% 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) | 10/19/18 | 10/12/18 | 10/05/18 | Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | 4.9 | -7.1 | -1.7 | -15.6 | -17.8 | 15.6 | 17.9 |
Purchase | 2.0 | -5.9 | -1.1 | 0.2 | 5.6 | 13.3 | 15.5 |
Refinancing | 9.7 | -9.0 | -2.6 | -32.3 | -34.0 | 17.3 | 19.7 |
15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 4.64 | 4.64 | 4.58 | 3.57 (Oct'17) | 3.59 | 3.22 | 3.47 |