Recent Updates
- US: Wholesale Trade (Feb), Producer Prices (Mar)
- US: Producer Price Indexes by Commodity Detail (Mar)
- US: Producer Price Indexes by Industry Detail (Mar)
- Canada: Investment in Building Construction (Feb), Labor Force Survey (Mar)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Post Strong February Gain; Sales Fall
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% (2.0% y/y) during February...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Unexpectedly Increase
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 744,000 during the week ended April 3...
Total PMIs Gain Traction in March
The PMI readings for March show improvement again...
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Bounces Back in February
Consumer credit outstanding surged $27.6 billion during February...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to Record during February
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $71.1 during February...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller September 18, 2019
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index eased 0.1% (+66.2% y/y) in the week ending September 13, following a 2.0% increase during the prior week. Applications to refinance a loan declined 4.3% (+148.0% y/y) after a 0.4% rise in the week prior. Purchase applications showed continued strength, rising 6.4% w/w (15.2% y/y). It was the third straight week of strong gain.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.51%, the highest level since late-July. Nevertheless, it remained well below the high of 4.71% reached in early November 2018. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose to 4.12% from 3.95%, but remained below the November 2018 high of 5.33%. The effective rate on a 30-year Jumbo mortgage increased sharply to 4.09% from 3.94%. The rate on an adjustable 5-year mortgage was little changed at 3.65%.
The average mortgage loan size fell sharply to $327,400, the lowest level since early August.
Applications for fixed-rate loans rose 68.8% y/y, while adjustable rate loan applications increased 28.7% 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) | 9/13/2019 | 9/06/2019 | 8/30/2019 | Y/Y | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | -0.1 | 2.0 | -3.1 | 66.2 | -10.4 | -17.8 | 15.6 |
Purchase | 6.4 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 15.2 | 2.1 | 5.6 | 13.3 |
Refinancing | -4.3 | 0.4 | -7.0 | 148.0 | -24.3 | -34.0 | 17.3 |
15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.51 | 3.40 | 3.37 | 4.46 (Sep '18) | 4.35 | 3.59 | 3.22 |