Mortgage Loan Rates Mixed, Applications Dipped Slightly Last Week

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a dip of 0.2% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending July 20. Mortgage loan rate movements were mixed last week.

Mortgage loan rates did not move much last week, with the 30-year fixed rate loan ending the week about one tick above where it began, at 4.65% according to Mortgage News Daily. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds closed the week at around 2.82% on Tuesday, down four basis points week over week.

On an unadjusted basis, the MBA’s composite index was unchanged week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 1% compared with the week ended July 13. The unadjusted purchase index decreased by 1% for the week and was 2% higher year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index increased by 1% week over week and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 36.5% to 36.8%.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.3% of all applications, up from 6.1% in the prior week.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 4.77%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 4.66% to 4.72%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up from 4.22% to 4.23%.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan decreased from 4.12% to 4.09%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed rate loan were unchanged at 4.78%.