Housing

Mortgage Loan Rates Rise With Demand Following Holiday Week

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. It noted an increase of 7.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending December 5, following a drop of 7.3% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rates rose on four loan types and dropped on the other one. The prior week’s decline was wiped out with similar sized increase last week.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 52% week-over-week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 1% compared to the week ended November 28. The unadjusted purchase index rose by 37% for the week and remains 4% lower year-over-year.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 7% of all applications, up from 6.7% in the prior week.

The MBA’s refinance index increased by 13%, after dropping by 13% in the previous week. The share of refinancings rose from 60% to 64%.

The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 4.08 to 4.11%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.11% to 4.07%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.30% to 3.35%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan increased from 3.07% to 3.11%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan rose from 3.85% to 3.87%.

Given the near-identical turnarounds in application numbers and interest rates, it is almost as if the past two weeks didn’t happen.

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