Mortgage applications in the United States drop at the end of May
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest weekly mortgage application survey for the week ending May 21, 2021, mortgage applications were down 4.2% from the previous week.
The Composite Market Index, a measure of mortgage application volume, fell 4.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index was down 4% from the previous week.
The refinancing index was down 7% from the previous week and was 9% lower than the same week a year ago. The seasonally adjusted buying index increased 2% from the previous week. The unadjusted buying index rose 1% from the previous week and was 4% lower than the same week a year ago.
Joel kan
“Mortgage applications fell last week as mortgage rates rose to 3.18%. Refinances fell by 7%, due to the decline in both conventional and government refinancing activities, ”said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industrial forecasting at MBA. “Purchase requests increased for the second time in three weeks, rebounding from a rather weak April with mostly weekly declines. While buying activity was about 4% lower than that of A year ago, the comparison is with the strong recovery in activity last spring due to the pandemic. Demand is robust across the country, but buyers continue to be held back by the lack of homes for sale and by the rapid increase in house prices. “
The refinancing share of the mortgage business fell to 61.4% of total applications, from 63.3% the previous week. The share of variable rate mortgage (ARM) activity rose to 4.0% of total applications.
FHA’s share of total claims fell to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent the week before. VA’s share of total claims decreased to 11.2% from 12.0% the previous week. USDA’s share of total claims remained unchanged from 0.4% the week before.
The average contractual interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages with compliant loan balances ($ 548,250 or less) fell from 3.15% to 3.18%, from 0.35 to 0, 36 (including set-up costs) for 80% loan-to-loan to value ratio (LTV). The effective rate has increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (above $ 548,250) decreased to 3.30% from 3.31%, with points falling from 0, 30 to 0.27 (including set-up fees) for 80% of LTV loans. The effective rate was unchanged from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year FHA-guaranteed fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.20% from 3.13%, with points falling from 0.25 to 0.30 ( set-up costs included) for 80% of LTV loans. The effective rate has increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 2.54% to 2.53%, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.32 (including origination fees) for 80% of LTV loans. The effective rate has decreased compared to last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs fell from 2.58% to 2.81%, with points dropping to 0.29 from 0.25 (including set-up costs) for 80% of loans LTV. The effective rate has increased from last week.
