Mortgage rates improved ahead of Easter Sunday. But purchase and government business dragged overall new activity lower despite an uptick in adjustable-rate inquiries and an improvement in refinance activity.
At 198, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortech Inc. and MortgageDaily.com for the week ended April 22 was lower than 214 last week and 228 one year earlier.
Pulling down business was new activity on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The FHAÂ MMI was down 20 percent this week.
Purchases were also slower, with the Purchase MMI down 13 percent for the week.
But borrowers out shopping for an adjustable-rate mortgage were busier, with the ARMÂ MMI up 5 percent from the prior week. The ARM share of activity jumped to 10.42 percent from last week’s 9.55 percent.
In addition, refinance activity rose 1 percent, and the refinance share increased to 44 percent from the prior week’s 41 percent.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 8 basis points better this week, while the jumbo 30-year improved 10 BPS — cutting the spread between the two products to 57 BPS from 59 BPS last week.
Like the jumbo mortgage, the 15-year mortgage also became more attractive this week. The spread between the 15-year and the 30-year grew to 79 BPS from 78 BPS seven days ago.
