Global| Mar 18 2015U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Decline as Interest Rates Stabilize
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 3.9% last week (+6.7% y/y). Applications have moved roughly one-quarter lower since a late-January peak. Refinance applications led the [...]
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 3.9% last week (+6.7% y/y). Applications have moved roughly one-quarter lower since a late-January peak. Refinance applications led the way with a 5.2% w/w decline (+10.8% y/y) and have fallen by more than one-third since the mid-January peak. Home purchase applications fell 1.9% w/w (+0.7% y/y) and were off 11.7% from the peak nine weeks ago.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage held steady at 3.36%. It remained higher, however, versus its low of 3.17% eight weeks ago. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan held at 4.10%, up from its low of 3.87%. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan fell w/w to 4.04%. For adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate declined w/w to 3.15% but and compare to 3.02% eight weeks ago.
The average mortgage loan size held fairly steady at $264,300 (13.3% y/y). For home purchases, it gained to $296,100 (8.5% y/y) and for refinancings it was steady at $242,100 (19.5% y/y).
Applications for fixed interest rate loans increased 9.5% y/y but adjustable rate loan applications declined 25.9% y/y.
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. 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, 3/16/90=100) | 03/13/15 | 03/06/15 | 02/27/15 | Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market Index | 399.3 | 415.4 | 420.7 | 6.7 | 361.5 | 616.6 | 813.8 |
| Purchase | 170.4 | 173.0 | 169.8 | 0.7 | 172.1 | 197.5 | 187.8 |
| Refinancing | 1,720.3 | 1,815.3 | 1,870.3 | 10.8 | 1,449.8 | 3,070.0 | 4,505.0 |
| 15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.36 | 3.36 | 3.35 | 3.64 (3/14) |
3.54 | 3.42 | 3.25 |
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.
More Economy in Brief
