U.S. Mortgage Applications Edge Higher Last Week
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Purchase applications increase sharply while loan refinancing falls.
- Effective interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate loan increases minimally.
- Average loan size declines for fifth week in last six.
Mortgage applications increased 0.8% (22.1% y/y) in the week ending July 18, after falling 10.0% the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The increase was the fourth in the last five weeks. Applications for loans to purchase a home increased 3.4% (22.5% y/y) last week, following an 11.8% decline in the week of July 11. Applications for loan refinancing declined 2.6% (+21.6% y/y) in the week of July 18 after falling 7.4% in the prior week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan edged up to 7.02% in the week ending July 18, from 7.00% in the week ending July 11. It was increased from a low of 6.29% in the week of September 20, 2024, but below a peak of 8.12% in the week of October 20, 2023. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages held steady at 6.32% in the latest week. It has risen from a low of 5.60% in the week of September 20, 2024. The rate on 30-year Jumbo loans of 6.95% last week compared to 6.94% one week earlier. It was up from a low of 6.57% in the week of September 13, 2024. The rate on a 5-year ARM declined to 6.12% after rising to 6.24% in the week of July 13. It was above a low of 5.84% in the week of September 18, 2024.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan fell to 39.6% of total applications in the week ending July 18 from 41.1% in the prior week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity rose to 7.20% in the week of July 18 from 7.10% in the prior week.
The average size of a mortgage loan fell 1.0% (+0.6% y/y) to $371,800 in the week of July 18, following a 2.8% decline in the prior week. The average size of a purchase loan moved 0.5% lower both m/m and y/y to $426,700 last week, down for the third straight week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage fell 3.8% (+3.0% y/y) to $287,900 in the latest week, after falling 5.6% in the prior week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association Survey covers 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 all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. The figures for weekly mortgage applications and interest rates are available in Haver’s SURVEYS database.
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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