Global| Jul 20 2005Rise in Mortgage Applications Due To Refinancing
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Total mortgage applications inched up 1.2% last week but remained down nearly 10% from the weekly high in early June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For July so far, applications remained 1.7% ahead of the June average [...]
Total mortgage applications inched up 1.2% last week but remained down nearly 10% from the weekly high in early June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For July so far, applications remained 1.7% ahead of the June average which rose 9.9% versus May.
Applications to refinance rose 2.5% and have been moving irregularly sideways since early last month. So far in July applications to refinance are 1.7% ahead of June when they rose 21.2% versus May.
Purchase applications slipped 0.1% w/w and marked the fourth decline in the last five weeks. So far in July purchase applications are 1.6% above June due to the large 9.1% jump during the first week of the month. During the last ten years there has been a 49% correlation between the y/y change in purchase applications and the change in new plus existing single family home sales.
The effective interest rate on a conventional 30-year mortgage rose to 5.94%, the highest level since mid-May. The effective rate on a 15-year mortgage also rose to 5.60%.
The Mortgage Bankers Association surveys between 20 to 35 of the top lenders in the U.S. housing industry to derive its refinance, purchase and market indexes. The weekly survey accounts for more than 40% of all applications processed each week by mortgage lenders. Visit the Mortgage Bankers Association site here.
Today's Testimony of Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, the semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, is available here.
| MBA Mortgage Applications (3/16/90=100) | 07/15/05 | 07/08/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market Index | 801.1 | 791.9 | 29.6% | 735.1 | 1,067.9 | 799.7 |
| Purchase | 488.7 | 489.0 | 11.0% | 454.5 | 395.1 | 354.7 |
| Refinancing | 2,618.2 | 2,554.3 | 58.6% | 2,366.8 | 4,981.8 | 3,388.0 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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