Mortgage Applications Dip In Latest Survey

Mortgage applications slid slightly last week though remained higher than a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released Wednesday.

Applications dropped 2.5 percent from one week earlier for the week ending September 11. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent but was 30 percent higher than last year. The Purchase Index was 12 percent lower but was 6 percent higher than a year ago.

“Mortgage rates held steady last week, and the 30-year fixed rate – at 3.07 percent – has now stayed near the 3 percent mark for the past two months. A 5 percent decline in conventional refinances pulled the overall index lower, but activity was still 30 percent higher than last year. With the flurry of refinance activity reported over the past several months, demand may be slowing as remaining borrowers in the market potentially wait for another sizeable drop in rates,” 

“Applications to buy a home also decreased last week, but the underlying trend remains strong,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Purchase activity has outpaced year-ago levels for 17 consecutive weeks, with a stronger growth in loans with higher balances pushing MBA’s average loan size to a new survey high of $370,200.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 62.8 percent of total applications from 63.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 2.3 percent of total applications.