Global| Jun 19 2013U.S. Mortgage Applications Move Lower Despite Interest Rate Stability
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Mortgage Bankers Association indicated that total applications for a home mortgage fell 3.3% w/w from last week, following a 5.0% rise during the prior week. The latest level was down by nearly one-third since early-May. Last [...]
The Mortgage Bankers Association indicated that total applications for a home mortgage fell 3.3% w/w from last week, following a 5.0% rise during the prior week. The latest level was down by nearly one-third since early-May. Last week's decline reflected a 3.4% drop (-40.4% y/y) in applications to refinance an existing loan. Home purchase mortgage applications were off 3.0% last week (+11.9% y/y).
The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage slipped w/w to 3.30% from 3.32%. Nevertheless, the figure was up sharply from its early-May low of 2.81%. Earlier numbers were revised slightly. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan ticked up to 4.17% last week while the rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan was 4.23%. The 87 basis point spread between 15- and 30-year loan rates was the greatest since July 2011. The effective interest rate on an adjustable 5-year mortgage increased to 2.81%, up from its low of 2.53% at the beginning of May.
Applications for fixed interest rate loans fell by one-third y/y while adjustable rate loan applications rose 10.8% y/y. The average mortgage loan size was $223,700. The average size loan for home purchases was $268,700 last week while for refinancings it was $203,300.
The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential
mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.
Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.
Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
The figures for weekly mortgage applications are available in Haver's SURVEYW
database.
Paying Paul and Robbing No One: An Eminent Domain Solution for Underwater Mortgage Debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York can be found here.
| MBA Mortgage Applications (SA, 3/16/90=100) | 06/14/13 | 06/07/13 | 05/31/13 | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market Index | 648.9 | 670.7 | 638.7 | -31.1 | 813.8 | 572.3 | 659.3 |
| Purchase | 210.4 | 217.0 | 207.3 | 11.9 | 187.8 | 182.6 | 199.8 |
| Refinancing | 3,208.5 | 3,322.3 | 3,163.5 | -40.4 | 4,505.0 | 2,858.4 | 3,348.1 |
| 15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.30 | 3.32 | 3.23 | 3.22 (6/12) |
3.25 | 3.97 | 4.39 |
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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