U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose in the May 8 Week
Summary
- Applications for loans to purchase rose, while applications for loan refinancing declined in the latest week.
- Interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans was unchanged at 6.64%.
- Average loan size edged down.
Mortgage applications rose 1.7% w/w (15.5% y/y) in the week ending May 8, after declining 4.4% w/w (+14.9% y/y) in the week ending May 1, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications for loans to purchase a house rose 3.9% w/w (6.7% y/y) in the May 8 week, following a decline of 3.7% w/w (+5.1% y/y) in the May 1 week. Applications for loan refinancing declined 0.8% w/w (+28.3% y/y) in the latest week after declining 5.0% w/w (+28.8% y/y) in the week of May 1.
The effective interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was unchanged at 6.64% in the week ending May 8 from the week ending May 1. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages edged down 2bps to 5.99% in the latest week from 6.01% in the week ending May 1. The 30-year Jumbo rate rose 4bps to 6.64% in the May 8 week from 6.60% in the May 1 week. The rate on a 5-year ARM rose 12bps to 6.02% in the latest week from 5.90% in the week ending May 1. The share of applications for refinancing an existing loan declined to 40.8% of total applications in the week of May 8, from 42.0% in the May 1 week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity was unchanged at 8.8% in the week ending May 8 from the May 1 week.
The average size of a mortgage loan edged down 0.5% w/w (+2.9% y/y) to $409,000 in the week ending May 8, after rising 0.7% w/w (2.7% y/y) to $410,900 in the week ending May 1. The average size of a purchase loan was largely unchanged w/w (4.0% y/y) at $467,200 in the latest week, after rising 1.5% w/w (5.2% y/y) to $467,300 in the May 1 week. The average size of a loan to refinance a mortgage declined 2.5% w/w (+5.9% y/y) to $324,500 in the May 8 week, after declining 1.3% w/w (+2.3% y/y) to $332,800 in the May 1 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.
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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