The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a week-over-week decrease of 1.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending March 6. That followed an increase of 0.1% for the week ending February 27. Mortgage loan rates increased on all five types of loans last week, a full-reversal of the prior week’s decline in interest rates.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 1% week-over-week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 2% compared to the week ended February 27. The unadjusted purchase index rose by 3% for the week and is now 2% higher year-over-year.

The MBA’s refinance index decreased 3% week-over-week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing fell from 62% to 60%.

Last week’s small bounce in mortgage applications and small drop in mortgage rates both reversed themselves this week. The refinancing portion of total applications is the lowest since January. The average loan size for purchase applications increased to $294,900, the highest level since the survey began in 1990.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 5.6% of all applications, up from 5.4% in the prior week.

The FHA share of all applications slipped from 14.6% a week ago to 14.0%, and the VA share increased from 9.8% to 10.8%.

The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.96% to 4.01%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.95% to 4.02%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased from 3.27% to 3.29%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan rose from 3.05% to 3.18%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan rose from 3.76% to 3.80%.

ALSO READ: Cities With the Highest (and Lowest) Unemployment

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.