Housing
Mortgage Loan Rates Ticked Lower, Applications Rose 3% Last Week
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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting an increase of 3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending August 4. During the week, mortgage loan rates fell on four of the five loan types that the MBA tracks.
On an unadjusted basis, the composite index increased by 3% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 1% compared with the week ended July 28. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 0.3% for the week, and is now 7% higher year over year.
The MBA’s refinance index increased by 5% week over week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 45.5% to 46.7%.
Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.8% of all applications, up 0.2 percentage points from the prior week.
Mortgage loan rates have ticked lower recently, but there has been very little change in interest rates over the past four weeks. According to Mortgage News Daily, the most prevalent rate being charged this week is 4% on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Friday’s report on the Consumer Price Index is expected to provide a bit more direction on what the Federal Reserve might do to rates.
According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped from 4.17% to 4.14%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 4.11% to 4.07%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped from 3.45% to 3.41%.
The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan inched up from 3.30% to 3.31%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan slipped from 4.07% to 4.02%.
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