Mortgage apps up for the week
According to the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 4, 2012, mortgage application volume increased 1.7 percent from the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis, and 2.0 percent on an unadjusted basis. The MBA reports that the increase was driven by increases in their Conventional components.
Application activity within the Government market decreased for the week, while the Refinance Index rose 1.3 percent, the Conventional Refinance Index rose 1.8 percent, and the Government Refinance Index fell 2.3 percent in the same period. The Conventional Purchase Index jumped up 5.4 percent, and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index rose 3.4 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity continued to slowly decrease, losing 0.5 percent of volume from the previous week.
Current mortgage rates
According to the MBA:
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 4.01 percent from 4.05 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. This is the lowest 30-year fixed interest rate recorded in the history of the survey. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 4.29 percent from 4.32 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.81 percent from 3.80 percent, with points decreasing to 0.45 from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.29 percent from 3.31 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. This is the lowest 15-year fixed interest rate recorded in the history of the survey. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.83 percent from 2.87 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
