U.S. Mortgage Applications Fall to Lowest Level Since 2000
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Purchase & refinancing applications both decline.
• Mortgage interest rates increase.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications declined 6.3% (-59.7% y/y) in the week ended July 15, the third consecutive week of decline. Purchase applications weakened 7.3% (-18.7% y/y), also the third consecutive fall. Applications to refinance an existing mortgage loan fell 4.3% (-79.9% y/y) after rising 2.2% in the previous week.
The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan rose to 31.4%, the highest level in five weeks. The percentage of applications that were ARMs was little-changed at 9.5%.
Applications for fixed-rate loans fell 6.3% (-62.4% y/y), the third consecutive weekly decline. Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages fell 6.6% (+17.7% y/y) after easing 0.5% in the previous week.
The effective rate on a fixed-rate loan rose to 6.0% from 5.9% in the prior week. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased to 5.07%. The rate on 30-year Jumbo loan rose to 5.42% while the rate on 5-year ARMs fell to 4.96%.
The average loan size decreased 1.9% to $365,800 in the week of July 15. It has fallen from a series high of $401,900 reached in the week ended May 6. The average size of a purchase loan fell 2.1% to $406,600. The average refinancing loan size eased 0.3% to $276,500.
The Mortgage Bankers 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.
These 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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