The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. The report noted an increase of 0.9% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending December 19, following a drop of 3.3% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rates declined on three types of loans and rose on two others.
On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 0.4% week-over-week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 1%, compared to the week ended December 12. The unadjusted purchase index fell by 1% for the week and remains 1% lower year-over-year.
Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.5% of all applications, up from 6.2% in the prior week.
The MBA’s refinance index rose 1% week-over-week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 66% in the prior week to 67%.
The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.06% to 4.02%, the lowest since May 2013. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.99% to 4.07%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 3.33% to 3.29%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan increased from 3.0% to 3.1%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan fell from 3.86% to 3.81%.
The MBA will not issue a report next week. The next report will be released January 7, 2015.
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