Mortgage demand has now fallen for the fifth week in a row with total demand falling 1.2%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey.
- Purchase demand fell 0.2% for the week and is now down 29% from the same time last year.
- Refinance demand fell 4.0% for the week and is now down 83% from the same time last year.
Breakdown. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased slightly to 30.2% of total applications and adjustable-rate mortgage increased to 9.1% of total applications.
Six Handle. Mortgage rates increased for the fourth week in a row with the 30-year fixed increasing 7 basis points to 6.01% for the week ending September 9th. This is 298 basis points higher than one year ago and is now the highest level since 2008.
- The 15-year fixed was up 7 bips to 5.30% and the 5/1 ARM was up 2 basis points to 4.83%.
Uncertainty. Joel Kan, MBA economist, noted the spread between confirming rates and jumbo and ARMs says a lot about the market. “The spread between the conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate and both ARM and jumbo loans remained wide last week, at 118 and 45 basis points, respectively. The wide spread underscores the volatility in capital markets due to uncertainty about the Fed’s next policy moves.”