Global| Feb 25 2015U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Fall Further as Interest Rates Rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 3.5% last week (+20.6% y/y). It was the the fourth decline in the last five weeks, totaling 25.2%. Refinance applications fell 7.5% [...]
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that their total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 3.5% last week (+20.6% y/y). It was the the fourth decline in the last five weeks, totaling 25.2%. Refinance applications fell 7.5% (+27.8% y/y). It also was the fourth decline in five weeks, totaling 32.2%. Home purchase applications gained 4.6% (9.8% y/y) but still were off 11.8% from the peak six weeks ago.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage held steady at 3.35%. It remained up, however, from its low of 3.17% five weeks ago. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan ticked up to 4.09%, also up from its low of 3.87%. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan increased to 4.15%, up from its 3.88% low. For adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate rose w/w to 3.40%, up from 3.02% one month ago.
The average mortgage loan size fell to $254,400 (+11.7% y/y). For home purchases, it held fairly steady at $288,800 (+8.3% y/y) but for refinancings, it fell sharply to $233,300 (+16.7% y/y).
Applications for fixed interest rate loans were up 23.8% y/y. Adjustable rate loan applications declined 18.3% 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) | 02/20/15 | 02/13/15 | 02/06/15 | Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market Index | 420.3 | 435.6 | 501.8 | 20.6 | 361.5 | 616.6 | 813.8 |
| Purchase | 170.2 | 162.7 | 175.1 | 9.8 | 172.1 | 197.5 | 187.8 |
| Refinancing | 1,861.8 | 2,012.8 | 2,395.8 | 27.8 | 1,449.8 | 3,070.0 | 4,505.0 |
| 15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.35 | 3.33 | 3.22 | 3.60 (2/14) |
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.
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