Demand for mortgages fell for the second straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association…(MBA)
- PURCHASES: The Purchase Index fell4% for the week and was 18% lower than the same week one year ago.
- REFIS: The Refinance Index was actually up 2% for the week but was 80% lower than the same week one year ago.
NOTE: The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 1.2 percentage points to 30.8% of total applications while the ARM share of activity increased slightly to 9.6%.
A volatile week for rates left the 30-year fixed unchanged for the week at 5.74% which is 265 basis points higher than the same time one year ago.
- The 15-year fixed fell 3 basis points to 4.93% while the 5/1 ARM was actually up 9 bips to 4.71% for the week.
Joel Kan, MBA economist, said elevated rates is putting downward pressure on loan amounts. “After reaching a record $460,000 in March 2022, the average purchase loan size was $415,000 last week, pulled lower by the potential moderation of home-price growth and weaker purchase activity at the upper end of the market.”
- This is similar to what Black Knight reported earlier this week. Their report showed that the average loan amount in June fell by $8,000 from May to $351,000.