The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning. It noted a week-over-week increase of 8.8% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending January 22. Mortgage loan rates for all types of loans decreased last week.
On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 0.3% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 5% compared with the week ended January 15. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 0.4% for the week and is now 22% higher year over year.
The MBA’s refinance index increased by 11% week over week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing ticked down from 59.1% to 59.0%.
Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.9% of all applications, up from 6.0% in the previous week.
Mortgage News Daily reported on Tuesday that the best mortgage rate for a lender’s most highly qualified buyers had dipped to a range of 3.750% to 3.875%. The sell-off in equities has boosted bond prices, strengthening demand for mortgage-backed securities and helping push mortgage interest rates down.
According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.06% to 4.02%, its lowest level since October 2015. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 3.93% to 3.89%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 3.29% to 3.28%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan decreased from 3.20% to 3.09%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan fell from 3.86% to 3.83%.
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