After a double-digit jump the prior week mortgage demand fell 8.1% for the week ending February 4th, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey…(MBA)
- PURCHASES: The Purchase Index dropped 10% for the week and was down 12% from the same time one year ago.
- REFIS: The Refinance Index fell 7% and is down a whopping 52% from the same time one year ago.
NOTE: Despite the big drop in purchase demand the refinance share of mortgage activity fell 1.4 percentage points to 56.2% of total applications.
Mortgage rates continue to rise but the pace is definitely is slowing…
- 30-YR FIXED: The average contract interest rate was up 5 basis points to 3.83%, which is 87 basis points higher than one year ago.
- 15-YR FIXED: The average contract interest rate saw a big 15 basis point jump to 3.16%, which is 66 basis points higher than one year ago.
Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting, noted that rising home prices continue to raise average loan limits…
- “Both conventional and FHA purchase applications saw proportional declines, resulting in purchase activity overall dropping 10 percent. The average loan size again hit another record high at $446,000. Activity continues to be dominated by larger loan balances, as inventory remains tight for entry-level buyers.”