Mortgage Bankers Association : Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 11, 2017) - Mortgage applications increased 5.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 6, 2017. The most recent week's results include an adjustment to account for the New Year's Day holiday, while the previous week's results were adjusted for the Christmas holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 5.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 42 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 4 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 45 percent compared with the previous week and was 18 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 51.2 percent of total applications from 52.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.5 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 11.7 percent from 11.6 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.8 percent from 12.3 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.32 percent from 4.39 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 4.27 percent from 4.37 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.44 (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 decreased to 4.08 percent from 4.22 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.34 (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 3.56 percent from 3.64 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 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 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.32 percent from 3.28 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

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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. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.