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Economy in Brief
U.S. Index of Leading Indicators Fell in April
Five of the index's components fell in April, one was unchanged and four increased...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Rose in the Latest Week
The state insured rates of unemployment in regular programs vary widely...
U.S. Housing Starts Dip in April but Remain Elevated
The pattern of housing construction activity seems to be shifting toward multifamily...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continued to Slide Amid Higher Rates
The biggest declines have been in refinancing activity, while applications for purchase are just starting to crack...
UK Inflation Jumps
Inflation is at the highest rate since the series began in January of 1989...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Profits and Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation & Fed Policy: A Relationship Which Should Worry The Fed And Scare Investors
Why Have the Yields on TIPS Been Negative in the Past Two Years?
by Tom Moeller December 5, 2018
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index rose 2.0% (-16.6% y/y) during the week ended November 30 following a 5.5% rise during the prior week. Applications to refinance a mortgage strengthened 6.2% last week (-36.3% y/y) after a 0.5% rise while purchase loan applications edged 0.8% higher (-0.3% y/y) after an 8.8% jump.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage held steady w/w at 4.65%, but remained up sharply from 3.01% averaged in July 2016. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan eased slightly to 5.21%. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan was unchanged for a second week at 4.97% and for adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate also was little changed at 4.41%.
The average mortgage loan size declined to $284,200 (+1.1% y/y). For purchases, the average loan size dropped to $298,000 (-2.3% y/y) compared to a stable $263,800 (2.1% y/y) for refinancings.
Applications for fixed-rate loans fell 18.1% y/y while applications for adjustable-rate loans increased 7.7% 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) | 11/30/18 | 11/23/18 | 11/16/18 | Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | 2.0 | 5.5 | -0.1 | -16.6 | -17.8 | 15.6 | 17.9 |
Purchase | 0.8 | 8.8 | 3.1 | -0.3 | 5.6 | 13.3 | 15.5 |
Refinancing | 6.2 | 0.5 | -5.0 | -36.3 | -34.0 | 17.3 | 19.7 |
15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 4.65 | 4.65 | 4.66 | 3.65 (Nov'17) | 3.59 | 3.22 | 3.47 |