Recent Updates
- Estonia: Money Supply (Apr)
- Singapore: Domestic Supply Price Index (Apr)
- China: Public Funds Asset Management (Apr)
- India: RAI Business Survey (Apr)
- Taiwan: Consumer Confidence Index (May)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index Dips in May But Remains Strong
The Kansas City Fed reported that its manufacturing sector business activity index declined to 23 in May...
U.S. Pending Home Sales Decline Sharply in April
Home buying remains under pressure...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Eased Slightly in the Latest Week
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended May 21 were 210,000 (-52.4% y/y)...
Italian Confidence Makes Small Bounce in May; Is It a Signal or Is It Noise?
Italian business and consumer confidence indexes both are substantially lower in May...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Increase Modestly in April
Manufacturers' new orders for durable goods increased 0.4% during April (12.2% y/y)...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
State Coincident Indexes in April 2022
State Labor Markets in April 2022
Profits & Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation and Fed Policy: A Relationship which Should Worry the Fed and Scare Investors
by Tom Moeller May 6, 2015
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Market Volume Index declined 4.6% last week (+21.8% y/y), the third decline in four weeks. Refinance applications fell 8.3% (+30.8% y/y) to the lowest level in four months. Purchase applications gained 0.8% (11.8% y/y) to the highest level since June 2013.
The effective interest rate on a 15-year mortgage increased to 3.27%, up modestly from last month's low of 3.17%. The effective rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan also nudged up to 4.03%. The rate on a Jumbo 30-year loan gained to 3.98%. For adjustable 5-year mortgages, the effective interest rate held steady at 2.99%, but remained near its lowest level since June 2013.
The average mortgage loan size nudged up to $269,100 (9.0% y/y). For purchases it rose to $297,400 (7.2% y/y) but for refinancings it slipped to $243,500.
Applications for fixed interest rate loans increased 25.2% y/y, but adjustable rate loan applications declined 14.0% 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) | 05/01/15 | 04/24/15 | 04/17/15 | Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Market Index | 427.3 | 447.9 | 458.4 | 21.8 | 361.5 | 616.6 | 813.8 |
Purchase | 207.1 | 205.4 | 205.4 | 11.8 | 172.1 | 197.5 | 187.8 |
Refinancing | 1,697.2 | 1,850.0 | 1,920.1 | 30.8 | 1,449.8 | 3,070.0 | 4,505.0 |
15-Year Mortgage Effective Interest Rate (%) | 3.27 | 3.22 | 3.17 | 3.48 (5/14) |
3.54 | 3.42 | 3.25 |