Mortgage Loan Rates Moving Lower, Applications Tick Higher

Housing

Published: April 12, 2017 11:10 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 1:02 pm

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting an increase of 1.5% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending April 7. During the week, mortgage loan rates either moved down or stayed the same.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 3% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index also increased by 3% compared with the week ended March 31. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 5% for the week and is now 3% higher year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index remained unchanged week over week and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing slipped from 42.6% to 41.6%, the lowest level since September 2008.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 8.5% of all applications, unchanged compared with the prior week.

Mortgage News Daily reported that quoted rates moved near year-to-date lows on Tuesday as investors hurried back into the bond market, seeking a safe haven following the saber-rattling from North Korea. Geopolitical concerns are currently affecting bond rates, and because mortgage rates move inversely to bonds, mortgage rates are trending lower.

Yesterday’s most prevalent quotes were 4.00% and 4.125% on conventional 30-year year mortgages. A few lenders were quoting rates beginning with a “3” and others remained at the higher end around 4.25%.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.34% to 4.28%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 4.24%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped from 3.57% to 3.51%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage loan remained unchanged at 3.33%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan fell from 4.15% to 4.14%.

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