Purchase applications slipped, breaking a weeks-long upward trend, as rates barely budge and inventory shortages keep prices high.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – fell by 7.2%, wiping out the week prior’s 3.7% spike.
Adjusted purchase applications slipped by 11%, while the unadjusted index decreased by 6% and was 20% lower YOY. The data includes an adjustment for the MLK holiday.
Demand may have been tempered by rates ticking up slightly the week prior and hovering at 6.78%. Rates haven’t moved much in the last month, though they remain well below October 2023’s high of 7.9%.
Stock shortages and high home prices are keeping purchase…
Mortgage loan application volume increased again last week, continuing a trend of rising demand as mortgage rates slip.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey showed the adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 7%.
The results included an adjustment for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Refinances drove the increase, up 15% from the week prior as mortgage rates fell to 6.2%, their lowest level since September.
They remain 77% lower than the same time last year, however, comprising only 31.9% of total applications. In the past decade, refis averaged 58% of total activity.
Purchase demand saw a boost as well, though not as drastic. Applications increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of 3%, but…
Rate lock volumes took a beating in December as buyers and sellers remained on the sidelines. Black Knight’s December Originations Monitor Report found that typical seasonal patterns, together with continuing inflationary pressures and elevated rates, resulted in record lows for locks of all kinds. “Using Black Knight’s McDash mortgage performance data to provide comparative history, December saw the fewest purchase locks in a single month since early 2014, and the fewest overall rate locks on record dating back to January 2000 when Black Knight began reporting origination metrics,” said Kevin McMahon, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. Rate lock dollar volumes fell by 19.4% in December, their lowest level in the five years Optimal Blue has tracked…
Origination activity continues to sink as the market corrects, with refinances seeing major drops. Black Knight’s October 2022 Originations Market Monitor report found that rate lock dollar volume dropped 14.3% month-over-month to its lowest level since February 2019. Refinances have been hit especially hard, making up just 14% of all origination activity in October. Cash-out refis, which had previously seemed resilient due to widespread equity gains, fell 25.1% from September and are down 83.6% YOY. Rate/term refis sank an additional 15.7% and are now down 92.6% YOY. “With interest rates now at their highest level in 20 years, the refi market is rapidly approaching a bottom,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “Indeed, our…
Mortgage loan application volume rose by 4.2% last week despite rates surging to their highest point since November 2008, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by 4.2%. The adjusted purchase index rose 8%, while the unadjusted purchase index was up by 6% and was 10% lower YOY. The refinance index dropped by 3% and made up 29.7% of total applications. Refi volume is down 77% in the last year. ARM activity rose to 10.6% of total applications. Mortgage rates increased by 33 basis points to 5.98%, their highest since 2008 and the largest single-week increase since 2009. MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry…
Overall residential lending activity dropped 32% YOY, the fastest decline in eight years, according to ATTOM’s Q1 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. The report found that 2.71 million mortgages secured by residential property were originated in Q1 2022. This is a drop from Q4 and the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Refinances were down 22% and purchase mortgages fell 18% quarter-over-quarter. Lenders originated $892.4 billion in loans in Q1, down 17% from Q4 and 27% YOY. The quarterly dip in dollar volume was the largest in five years, and the annual dip was the largest in eight years. Declining refis drove the declines, with only 1.45 million residential loans refinanced during Q1 2022, down 22% from Q4 and a…
After a record-breaking year for independent mortgage banks, profits declined by 75 basis points in 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Annual Mortgage Bankers Performance Report. Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks made an average profit of $2,339 on each loan they originated in 2021, down from the record $4,202 per loan in 2020. Average production volume totaled $4.9 billion per company, up from $4.5 billion in 2020. But production expenses took a toll on profits, reaching their highest level since 2008, the first year of MBA’s report. Personnel expenses for sales, fulfillment, and production support all rose while revenues fell. “2021 was another stellar year for independent mortgage bankers, with production profits well above…
Mortgage loan application volume fell 7.1% from last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 7.1%. The adjusted purchase index fell 2%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell 5% and was 11% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 13% and was down 53% YOY. Refinances made up 55.8% of total applications. Mortgage rates continue to climb, with the 30-year fixed-rate reaching its highest level since March 2020 last week, 77 basis points above the same time last year. “Unsurprisingly, borrower demand for refinances subsided, with applications falling for the fourth straight week. After almost two years of lower rates, there are not many borrowers left…
