U.S. Mortgage Applications Edged Down in the February 6 Week
Summary
- Applications for loans to purchase declined in the latest week while refinancing loan applications rose.
- Effective interest rate on 30-year fixed loans rose 1bp to 6.38%.
- Average loan size declined.
Mortgage applications edged down 0.3% w/w (+43.4% y/y) in the week ending February 6, following a drop of 8.9% w/w (+47.2% y/y) in the week ending January 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house declined 2.4% w/w (+5.5% y/y) in the latest week, after contracting 14.4% w/w (+5.6% y/y) in the week ending January 30. Applications for loan refinancing rose 1.2% w/w (100.5% y/y) in the February 6 week, after declining 4.7% w/w (+117.3% y/y) in the January 30 week.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan edged up 1bp to 6.38% in the week ending February 6 from 6.37% in the week ending January 30. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose 6bps to 5.82% in the latest week from 5.76% in the prior week. The 30-year Jumbo rate fell 2bps to 6.40% in the February week from 6.42% in the January 30 week. The rate on a 5-year ARM edged down 1bp to 5.58% in the latest week from 5.59% in the week ending January 30.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan declined to 56.4% of total applications in the February 6 week from 57.1% in the January 30 week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity rose to 8.0% in the week ending February 6 from 7.5% in the week ending January 30.
The average size of a mortgage loan declined 1.2% w/w (+3.1% y/y) to $405,700 in the week ending February 6, after rising 1.9% w/w (6.6% y/y) to $410,800 in the week ending January 30. The average size of a purchase loan declined 1.6% w/w (-2.4% y/y) to $445,000 in the latest week, following a 2.6% w/w to $452,100 in the week ending January 30. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage declined 1.2% w/w (+24.9% y/y) to $375,200 in the week ending February 6, following a rise of 1.5% w/w to $379,700 in the week ending January 30.
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.
Kathleen Stephansen, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Kathleen Stephansen is a Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and an Independent Trustee for the EQAT/VIP/1290 Trust Funds, encompassing the US mutual funds sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Company. She is a former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies USA, Senior Economic Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management’s Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen held various positions as Chief Economist or Head of Global Research at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation.
Kathleen serves on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), as Vice-Chair of the GIC College of Central Bankers, is the Treasurer for Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain and graduate degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire (MA) and the London School of Economics (PhD abd).
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