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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 March 18, 2020
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Loan Application Index weakened 8.4% (+175.3% y/y) during the week ending March 13 after a 55.4% jump in the prior week. The decline occurred as refinancings fell 10.4% (+401.5% y/y), and purchase applications eased 0.9% (+10.6% y/y), following the prior week's 5.6% rise.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 3.20% from 2.97% in the week ended March 6. The rate remained well below its recent peak of 4.71% in early November 2018. The effective interest rate on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage also rose to 3.85% from 3.55% the previous week. The effective rate on a 30-year Jumbo mortgage increased to 3.87%, and the rate on the 5-year adjustable rate mortgage rose to 3.26%.
The average mortgage loan size fell to $352,200 last week (+9.5% y/y). The average loan size of refinancings declined to $350,700 (+12.2% y/y). The average loan size for purchases rose to $356,800 (8.9% y/y).
Applications for fixed-rate loans were up 177.6% y/y, while applications for adjustable rate loans moved up 145.0% 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 each index 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) | 03/13/20 | 03/06/20 | 02/28/20 | Y/Y | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | -8.4 | 55.4 | 15.1 | 175.3 | 32.4 | -10.4 | -17.8 |
Purchase | -0.9 | 5.6 | -2.7 | 10.6 | 6.6 | 2.1 | 5.6 |
Refinancing | -10.4 | 78.6 | 26.0 | 401.5 | 71.1 | -24.3 | -34.0 |
15-Year Effective Mortgage Interest Rate (%) | 3.20 | 2.97 | 3.09 | 4.13 | 3.71 | 4.35 | 3.59 |
30-Year Effective Mortgage Interest Rate (%) | 3.85 | 3.55 | 3.65 | 4.77 | 4.34 | 4.94 | 4.32 |