Mortgage activity inched higher this week, with the biggest gain coming from refinances. Government-insured business, however, turned lower.
A 3 percent decline in average per-user pricing inquiries from last week left the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from LoanSifter and Mortgage Daily for the week ended Feb. 7 at 173.
Volume dropped from one year prior, with the year-over-year decline coming in at 36 percent. The numbers for last year were revised to reflect the same data provider.
A 6 percent increase from the week ended Jan. 31 was reported for refinance inquiries. But refinance activity was down by more than half from one year earlier.
Refinance share rose to 51.7 percent from 50.3 percent in the last report but was far less than the 72.4 percent share in the week ended Feb. 8, 2013. This week’s cashout share was 25.4 percent, while the rate-term share was 37.0 percent.
Conventional loan inquiries delivered the next-best improvement, rising 5 percent on a week-over-week basis. But conventional business was down by 41 percent from the same week last year.
Originators increased inquiries for adjustable-rate mortgages by 3 percent. ARM activity was more than double the year-earlier level. ARM share was little changed from the last report at 12.7 percent but stands far wider than 4.0 percent as of the same point in 2013.
Jumbo activity increased 2 percent from seven days earlier and was 21 percent stronger than 12 months earlier. Jumbo inquiries accounted for 9.5 percent of all inquiries. Jumbo share slipped from 9.6 percent in the previous week but was much wider than 5.0 percent in the year-earlier period.
Average jumbo rates were 12 basis points more than conforming rates. The jumbo-conforming spread worsened from 10 BPSÂ in the last report but was much better then the 30-basis-point spread 52 weeks prior.
The only category to suffer a setback was the Federal Housing Administration category, with FHAÂ inquiries declining 5 percent for the week and down 47 percent for the year.
FHAÂ share was 14.3 percent, down from 15.5 percent last week and 17.1 percent in the same week last year.
Conforming 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.598 percent, retreating from 4.652 percent one week earlier. One year earlier, 30-year rates were 3.808 percent.
The rate discount for a 15-year mortgage was 98 BPS this week, better than 96 BPS in the last report and 71 BPS in the same week last year.
Thirty-year rates might be around 3 BPS higher in the next report based on an analysis of Treasury market activity.
During the week covered by the latest report, the yield on the 10-year Treasury averaged 4.68 percent, according to Department of the Treasury data. The 10-year yield closed at 2.71 percent Friday.
