Mortgage loan application volume bounced back from last week’s low, rising 0.3%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey. Purchase mortgage activity grew 8%, driving the increase.
Last week’s numbers hit their lowest point since Mid-July, largely due to a 3% drop in refinancing. Refi dropped another 3% this week, but purchase mortgage applications made up for it, reaching their highest level since April.
“Compared to the same week last September, which was right in the middle of a significant upswing in home purchases, applications were down 11%– the smallest year-over-year decline in 14 weeks,” said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
The average loan size for a purchase application also rose, to $396,800. “The very competitive purchase market continues to put upward pressure on sales prices,” Kan noted.
Here are some highlights from the survey:
- Mortgage loan application volume: +0.3%
- Purchase mortgage applications: +8%
- Refi: 64.9% of market share (-1.9%)
- FHA share: 9.9% (-1%)
- VA share: 10.2% (-0.2%)
- USDA share: 0.1% (-0.4%)???
- Average loan size for a purchase application: $396,800